"Always be kind. If you see someone falling behind, walk beside them. If someone has been knocked down, lift them up. Always remind people of their worth. Be who you needed when you were going through hard times. Just one small act of kindness could mean the world to someone."
Lisa Inabnitt lives the above words every day in the Dialysis Unit. She is honest and open with her coworkers and her patients, which has created a spirit of trust among those around her. She exemplifies commitment to our veterans and their families every day.
We had a hospice patient whose larynx was cancerous, so he could make speaking motions with his mouth, but no sound came out. Lisa was the nurse who always had time to "listen" to him, no matter how long it took her to understand what he was trying to say. Through frequent communication with him, she began to understand his gestures and became "fluent" in his new language. She became his "voice". She translated his thoughts and concerns to the medical team. She helped him communicate with family members. She was there as his advocate and translator when he went into hospice and until his end of life.
Another time, Lisa was in the parking garage getting ready to go home after a 10-hour day that started at 5:30 AM. The dialysis nurse on call had a late patient in the ICU. The patient had been at the VA since 7 AM for a procedure but was not being admitted. There were problems with the water temperature, which resulted in the patient not being able to dialyze in any ICU. Lisa and the on-call nurse could have called the physician to have the patient receive his treatment the next day. His treatment was not critical, but Lisa and the on-call nurse knew how tired the patient was and that he did not want to come back again the next day. Even though she was not the on-call nurse, Lisa stayed until 9:15 that night so that the patient could receive his dialysis in the Dialysis Unit, which requires that 2 nurses be present outside of an ICU. Lisa is committed to providing the very best, most compassionate care for our veterans.
Lisa is always looking for ways to make the care we provide to our veterans better. When she goes to a class, she brings back ideas for improvement and works on implementing the changes. She not only has the ideas, she works to see those ideas become practice. She had her dad come to the Dialysis Unit as Santa Claus during the holidays. She gets the staff together at restaurants or at the movies, to strengthen relationships and enjoy one another's company outside of work. She's working with Volunteer Services to arrange an outing for our dialysis outpatients and staff together, outside of the Dialysis Unit. Lisa is everything we want our nurses to be here at the CVAMC.