Jamie Blanchard is a real-life superhero. She is a helper, healer, and the hardest worker you’ll find. With frequent flyer patients, she attends to them like it is her first time meeting them and hearing their stories. She doesn’t judge or begrudgingly care for them; she fights for them every time and urges them to fight for themselves. After each stay, remains optimistic that they heard her, and when they come back, she starts the process again – fighting just as hard.

She has a husband who is deployed, a newborn, and a toddler and she still gives her all to the unit. She hustles to find childcare on days we are in desperate need and genuinely feels bad when she is unable to help. She realizes that the morale of the department directly affects the work environment and relationships and the work your employees give.

While on maternity leave, she rallied local businesses to donate items to the department. With her own money, she bought a Starbucks card, posted the QR code on our FB page, and told people to treat themselves. She said she was proud to work with us and wanted to treat us. Every month she organizes our department's activity. Did I mention her husband is deployed, and she has a newborn and toddler?

There is something extra special about Jamie, that she believes to care for patients we have to care for each other as caregivers and humans, and I don’t know that I have worked with too many people who care more than Jamie.