Joni has been an RN in Behavioral Health Care for a few years.  She is a natural.  Joni is an exceptional person, which is evident in all of her accomplishments.  Joni makes working with difficult patients look easy.  She volunteers to work with patients who are in crisis or who have difficult home/relationship situations.  She is compassionate with all of them, even when they are agitated.  She has a calm manner that exudes from her.  I have watched her talk down a patient with ease and confidence while maintaining appropriate boundaries.  That is no easy task!

On several occasions, Joni has brought in food and fun games to make the patients feel at home, especially when they are missing a special day such as the Super Bowl, July 4th, and Christmas.  She has empathy for people that the rest of the world ignores.  She makes each of our patients feel special and conveys to them that what they want matters.  I have seen her laugh with patients and cry with patients.  I have seen her stand up for injustice with our patients and fight for their rights: their right to the same care as any patient, their right to be respected, their right to say no to treatment, their right to make their own life choices.  I observed Joni explaining these rights to physicians, counselors, family members, and outside agencies.  She is most definitely a patient advocate.

She spends time with family members and patients' friends at their request.  She answers their questions, listens to their fears, and supports them in any way she can. She helps them to understand the illness.  Joni has so much empathy for those around her.