There have been countless times in triage, or with my MHTC patients that Mary Jo went out of her way to call or talk to them or family members to get the crisis averted. I had a MHTC patient that overdosed on heroin, we both called the family for weeks later to stay in touch and offer support. This was my patient, but Mary Jo was so concerned that she too continued to offer support. She has a very calming voice and she can gain rapport rapidly and gets people in crisis to talk with her, come in, and be admitted. She is truly gifted and is in the perfect position to use her gifts. Many people that fill in for her comment on the workload. She does it with grace and genuine caring that veterans respond to.
Mary Jo consistently goes above and beyond for our veterans and to assist the staff in taking care of our veterans to the utmost level. Every time I have a question related to suicide prevention or a suicidal patient, she is ready and willing to help at the drop of a hat without ever a complaint. She is a joy to work with and a strong positive role model for all of us.
There have been countless times that I have called on Mary Jo for her expertise and she has always been available for guidance and direction. Her critical thinking skills are top notch and her experience is invaluable to our staff and veterans. We are faced with a multitude of complex case scenarios and often we have questions regarding the most appropriate level of care for our veterans. It has been my experience that Mary Jo provides us with a sounding board to clarify our assessment and thoughts. I find that this contributes to a sense of increased confidence that we are offering the best quality of care option available.