I’m an RN in HNS and have worked there for 18 years. Rose has been a nurse here at Riverwood for 30+ years! Rose is the definition of an Extraordinary Nurse, she goes above and beyond every single 12 hour shift! I know a story is wanted in this nomination and I’ll be glad to share the one that stands out to me in a few moments (we floor nurses could each think of so many inspiring stories and amazing outcomes at the hands of Rose).

First, want to give you the picture of who Rose is as a nurse and human. I would venture to say that 75-80% of our entire Riverwood staff know who Rose Appel is, in my opinion, she is the face of hospital inpatient nursing and is a part of so much. Rose is on TCAB (Transforming Care at the Bedside), streamlining our processes making things better for both nurses and patients, and she’s no slouch; she goes to the depths of the problem no matter how much time it takes to find a resolution!

A few years ago, Rose was asked to add another job to her name: Health Unit Coordinator (HUC); she was asked to train into that position in a time we were not replacing the person who left. Rose learned that technical computer/phone position without any complaining and again “Rose” to the occasion becoming more so the face of Hospital inpatient coordinating admissions/discharges/transfers/scheduling patient testing, etc.

Rose also switches or picks up shifts for coworkers in a bind and she moves her schedule around for the supervisors for the need of the HUC role without hesitation. Along with HUC she also does the Certified Nursing Assistant (CAN) role when needed, taking care of all our patients giving those patients the best scrub down they’ve gotten in a long time! She is every patient's cheerleader and also “mom” when it’s warranted.

Rose is a very active and well-known member of our community and when her peers see that it’s Rose taking care of their loved one when they leave for the day they feel comforted leaving their loved ones in the hands of Rose.

Now going back to last Fall during our Covid surge, it’s difficult for me to go back and recall as it is still so raw to me and all of us, but this memory makes me smile. We nurses, before the surge, were scared. We didn’t know what to expect, but as those very ill patients started to come in, we all mustered up every bit of energy and adrenaline we could to show up each shift for those very ill patients and our team. Rose was a COVID nurse right along with everyone else, struggling each long shift in the PAPR’s bringing comfort and her nursing experience to each patient. This brings me to my story that is the definition of this amazing human, Rose. I had an immunocompromised elderly male patient who needed to stay in the hospital one more night to ensure the infection was gone, he was hesitant to stay another night because that next day he had an appointment at the Journey North Church for the first dose of the covid vaccine, it was timed for 11 am. We made a promise to him that we would get him discharged before then to ensure he could keep his appointment; he was still quite nervous about it, he wanted and needed that vaccine. Rose, who was HUC that day, caught wind of my scenario and mentioned she was working at the vaccine clinic that next day and she would get the dose, drive it over to the hospital and give it to him right in his room before he was discharged home.

I saw her that next day dressed in her street clothes, shot in hand, and headed straight to the room where my patient resided. She didn’t have to do that but because she’s Rose, she did it and she thought nothing of it. In her mind she was just trying to put this man’s mind at ease, giving him the protection he needed and also allowing him to skip the chaos of the vaccine clinic while just recovering from a significant infection.

I am always in awe of how far Rose will go for her patients and I feel so lucky to work alongside such a selfless caregiver. Rose Appel IS Riverwood, and I am ecstatically proud to shout this from the rooftops!