Marie Matos, RN

Marie always goes above and beyond for her patients and receives many kudos from patients and families. She even has flowers and cards sent by patients after discharge. Her most recent "great catch" happened after she received a patient from the ER post-overdose. Marie is Spanish-speaking, this patient so happened to be Spanish-speaking as well. When he arrived at the unit, she immediately recognized something was wrong and alerted her Clinical Coordinator and Nursing Supervisor. This patient came to the unit with severe compartment syndrome at risk of losing one if not both legs, he was also having difficulty breathing due to pulmonary edema. The patient was extremely scared and alone. Marie remained with the patient, served as his translator, eased his fears, and did everything she could to find a family member for him. Marie reached out to the Chaplain immediately recognizing this patient and his family would need additional support. Marie went with the patient to the OR to ensure he understood what was happening and continued to ease his fears and communicate with his family. Our very own Chaplain (kudos to him as well) gave the patient's sister and her husband a ride from Dade City to Zephyrhills when the patient transferred campuses. This is just one example of how Marie embodies our mission to extend the healing ministry of Christ and our service standards not only to the patients we care for inside our walls but also on her mission trips extending the healing ministry of Christ across all borders.