Kristen Volcansek
August 2025
Kristen
Volcansek
,
RN
MICU
VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System
Cleveland
,
OH
United States
Kris asks, "Is there anything I can help you with on the inside?" She means something deep down, to the essence of the human being.
I have been a patient here at Louis Stokes VA Medical Center since January 2025. It has been an experience that turned out to be much more challenging than I would have ever dreamed. I slipped and fell on the ice in January 2025 and broke my ankle in three places. I had to have a steel plate placed in my leg to keep my bones aligned.
Even after all of that, I noticed that an old rotator cuff injury was keeping me awake for three days. The Lord sent me an angel—but you wouldn’t have known it at first glance because she had no wings. Her name was Kris Volcansek, an RN in the Intensive Care Unit. Kris rubbed some kind of salve on the large lump on my shoulder, right in the exact spot that was necessary. The excruciating pain disappeared after only two treatments. What a blessed nurse Kris is indeed! I got a very good night’s sleep thanks to Kris Volcansek.
When I go to different departments in the VA hospital, the nurses always ask, "On a scale of 1 to 10, Mr. C, what is your pain level now?" Kris asks this question somewhat differently. First of all, she listens to the patient’s main concerns very intently and says something like, "Besides your high heart rate, your bronchial pneumonia, your influenza, your urinary tract infection, and your sore shoulder, what is the most important thing you want to tackle first? Is there anything I can help you with on the inside?" She means something deep down, to the essence of the human being.
I cannot quote her exact words to capture her special way of treating her patients, but Kris Volcansek deserves far more than recognition and praise. In my book, Kris Volcansek is at the top of the list of all the employees at Louis Stokes VA Medical Center because of the very professional manner in which she performs her job.
There is a lot more to dispensing good medicine than prescribing pills for the patient. Listening intently and trying to understand what’s going on inside the heart and soul is of great importance, too. Listening to our own bodies can warn us that we must take action now to start the healing process. And with a little bit of love and compassion, a good practitioner like Kris can lift the soul and spirit to great heights—and Kris certainly does all of that. May God be with her always.
Even after all of that, I noticed that an old rotator cuff injury was keeping me awake for three days. The Lord sent me an angel—but you wouldn’t have known it at first glance because she had no wings. Her name was Kris Volcansek, an RN in the Intensive Care Unit. Kris rubbed some kind of salve on the large lump on my shoulder, right in the exact spot that was necessary. The excruciating pain disappeared after only two treatments. What a blessed nurse Kris is indeed! I got a very good night’s sleep thanks to Kris Volcansek.
When I go to different departments in the VA hospital, the nurses always ask, "On a scale of 1 to 10, Mr. C, what is your pain level now?" Kris asks this question somewhat differently. First of all, she listens to the patient’s main concerns very intently and says something like, "Besides your high heart rate, your bronchial pneumonia, your influenza, your urinary tract infection, and your sore shoulder, what is the most important thing you want to tackle first? Is there anything I can help you with on the inside?" She means something deep down, to the essence of the human being.
I cannot quote her exact words to capture her special way of treating her patients, but Kris Volcansek deserves far more than recognition and praise. In my book, Kris Volcansek is at the top of the list of all the employees at Louis Stokes VA Medical Center because of the very professional manner in which she performs her job.
There is a lot more to dispensing good medicine than prescribing pills for the patient. Listening intently and trying to understand what’s going on inside the heart and soul is of great importance, too. Listening to our own bodies can warn us that we must take action now to start the healing process. And with a little bit of love and compassion, a good practitioner like Kris can lift the soul and spirit to great heights—and Kris certainly does all of that. May God be with her always.