Curtis Shumate is an extraordinary nurse. This is a second career for this remarkable individual & I would say the God's blessed the nursing profession when he made that choice. Curtis is a Administrative House Supervisor that touches so many lives and he does this with a tender, loving spirit.

Curtis recently responded to a rapid response call for a patient. When a rapid response team is called to a room it provides an opportunity for experienced clinicians to help evaluate and treat a change in a patients condition. The RRT, made up of clinical experts, can then quickly intervene so that it does not lead to deterioration of a patients condition. One thing that can often happen when you have clinical experts discussing a situation you can loose sight of the person the discussion is about. Since Curtis is so intuitive to how others feel he could see in the face of this woman that she was frightened. So he went over to her, took her hand and began directly communicating with her. He explained what was going on and why. At the end of the event he asked if she would like for him to stay with her for a while which of course she did. So he then pulled up a chair, held her hand and sat with her for a time in her room. Through his compassion and desire to alleviate her fears he showed immense kindness to this women.

I believe that Curtis is so deserving of this award because patient-centered care is woven into his fiber similar to gold thread in a tapestry. He shows such respect and compassion to others every time that he interacts with someone.