Mary Fassnacht, BSN, RN, CPNP-PC

Mary is the weekend triage nurse for the Dell Children's at Home Hospice program. She spends all weekend every weekend, day and night, on call for each of our home hospice families, ranging anywhere from 10-16 patients at any one time. This often requires her to enter into the homes of people she has never met before, and walk compassionately alongside them as she works to manage challenging symptoms or facilitate a comfortable end of life.

Her work hours do not extend into the regular work week, yet Mary attends every team meeting and even participates in our daily morning rounds so that she has thorough and up-to-date information on every patient heading into each weekend shift. Her relationships with families can be fleeting, given the nature of her role, but she has also made a practice of attending the funerals of the patients she cares for. Her compassion, grace, and flexibility make her an incredibly adept nurse, and we are so beyond lucky to have her on our team.