June 2025
Monique
La Casse
,
RN
3rd Surgical
PeaceHealth St Joseph Medical Center
Bellingham
,
WA
United States
She is compassionate, caring, a fierce advocate, and dedicated to providing the highest quality of care for her patients while supporting her team.
Monique consistently exemplifies the qualities of an exceptional nurse on 3rd Surgical. She is compassionate, caring, a fierce advocate, and dedicated to providing the highest quality of care for her patients while supporting her team.
Monique started at 3rd Surgical about 3.5 years ago as a new graduate RN. Since then, she has grown tremendously in her nursing skills, advocacy, and leadership. She precepts students and new hires, performs the role of RTL, and is a highly engaged member of our UPC, helping to elevate the work that our council does.
Monique also got our unit involved in adopting local families during the holidays. As of last year, she has helped organize the adoption of multiple families, including more than 20 children over the last few years.
Monique is a strong advocate for herself, her coworkers, her work environment, and, most importantly, her patients. She takes the time not only to complete her job fully and carefully, but also to learn each patient’s story. In doing so, she connects with them, learns what they truly need, and helps them work toward the best possible outcomes. She meets patients where they are, in a nonjudgmental way, allowing them to feel seen and heard.
Her respect for all patients, their individuality, autonomy, dignity, and inherent worth, is evident in every interaction. Her dedication to our most vulnerable patients is where she truly goes above and beyond. She has a passion for providing the best care possible for our dementia patients, developmentally disabled patients, and patients with substance use disorders. She is never afraid to escalate concerns in real time and always follows up to make sure her patients are well cared for every shift.
When we round, her patients consistently tell us how much they appreciate her friendly and gentle approach. It is clear they feel safe and supported in her care.
A recent example of Monique going above and beyond involved a patient who was confused and escalating. The team had been trying to help her shower, but the patient was fixated on only using shampoo from a green bottle, just like she used at home. This fixation was preventing her from participating in care and causing the situation to become unsafe. Monique quickly found one of our white shampoo bottles and colored it green. This simple action immediately de-escalated the patient and allowed her to participate safely in showering.
It was obvious to the entire care team that Monique truly saw this patient’s anxiety and fear, and she did not hesitate to do what was needed to improve the situation for both the patient and the team providing care.
Monique is a nurse who changes outcomes through compassion, creativity, and genuine care.
Monique started at 3rd Surgical about 3.5 years ago as a new graduate RN. Since then, she has grown tremendously in her nursing skills, advocacy, and leadership. She precepts students and new hires, performs the role of RTL, and is a highly engaged member of our UPC, helping to elevate the work that our council does.
Monique also got our unit involved in adopting local families during the holidays. As of last year, she has helped organize the adoption of multiple families, including more than 20 children over the last few years.
Monique is a strong advocate for herself, her coworkers, her work environment, and, most importantly, her patients. She takes the time not only to complete her job fully and carefully, but also to learn each patient’s story. In doing so, she connects with them, learns what they truly need, and helps them work toward the best possible outcomes. She meets patients where they are, in a nonjudgmental way, allowing them to feel seen and heard.
Her respect for all patients, their individuality, autonomy, dignity, and inherent worth, is evident in every interaction. Her dedication to our most vulnerable patients is where she truly goes above and beyond. She has a passion for providing the best care possible for our dementia patients, developmentally disabled patients, and patients with substance use disorders. She is never afraid to escalate concerns in real time and always follows up to make sure her patients are well cared for every shift.
When we round, her patients consistently tell us how much they appreciate her friendly and gentle approach. It is clear they feel safe and supported in her care.
A recent example of Monique going above and beyond involved a patient who was confused and escalating. The team had been trying to help her shower, but the patient was fixated on only using shampoo from a green bottle, just like she used at home. This fixation was preventing her from participating in care and causing the situation to become unsafe. Monique quickly found one of our white shampoo bottles and colored it green. This simple action immediately de-escalated the patient and allowed her to participate safely in showering.
It was obvious to the entire care team that Monique truly saw this patient’s anxiety and fear, and she did not hesitate to do what was needed to improve the situation for both the patient and the team providing care.
Monique is a nurse who changes outcomes through compassion, creativity, and genuine care.