I received an email from a family member whom Juanita took care of during her stay on our unit raving about the care Juanita had given her mother. To give a little back story, this patient was transferred from an outlying hospital two hours away from Doctors Hospital. The family could only travel on the weekend to see her, and they felt a disconnect from the care team as they could only receive phone updates.

The first day Juanita took care of this patient was the same day the daughters arrived for the first time to visit their mother. Juanita spent time with this family, listening to their concerns, and organizing a multidisciplinary team meeting which consisted of the physician, care management, nursing, physical therapy, and the leadership team. After this meeting, the daughters felt confident their mother was receiving the best care and could leave the hospital with peace of mind that their mother was in the best hands. I remember this case specifically because I was working evenings that day and Juanita did not leave the unit to go home until 9 p.m. I checked in with her as she was leaving and she told me not to worry, she clocked out a while ago, but she felt the need to spend a little bit more time with her four other patients. She felt that she did not provide her other patients with the best care that day, as most of her day was spent with this patient. Juanita could not leave work without spending a little bit of time talking with her other patients and ensuring they knew she truly cared about each one of them.

Juanita places her patients' overall well-being at the top of her priority list every day. A few months later, I received a phone call from that same daughter stating her mother had passed. She wanted to make me aware of the impact that Juanita had, not only on her mother, but the whole family. They will always be thankful for Juanita and the care and compassion she showed towards her mother.