During our weekly monitoring appointment with B, S was experiencing issues; B immediately sent him to the ER, and S was subsequently admitted through the ER around 10:00 pm. We live about two hours west and not expecting this admission, needless-to-say, we (me especially) were in a bit of turmoil.

Larry Palecek was one of our first contacts. His calm presence and ability to listen to our concerns/questions truly helped me to settle down and regroup! During S’s seven-day stay, Larry continued to be amazing while we continued on S’s health journey, seeking answers; in addition to answering our questions or getting answers, almost hourly “check-in” on S for his needs or to make sure he was doing okay. Larry was a tremendous help with our frustrating experience during the first four days as we waited while Hillcrest had great difficulty finding and obtaining a rheumatologist who was finally able to come to Hillcrest that Wednesday.

Larry has a true gift of sincerity and honesty, the ability to actually listen to the patient/family with amazing respectfulness and empathy, and a work ethic that is few and far between in today’s world. We never saw or heard him say anything inappropriate – he treated every individual with the highest care, concern, and respect. In our opinion and personal experiences, Hillcrest Hospital is lucky to have such an incredible person caring for every single person’s individual needs. It is our pleasure to nominate Larry Palecek for his outstanding nursing skills.