Honor

This week was Nurses' Week.
St Joseph's does a great job of giving us nurses special treatment during the week - from a fabulous luncheon, to the blessing of hands, to raffle prizes, to special recognition. I just so happened to be nominated for two awards this year. I was nominated for the Nancy Berardino Award (which has to do with clinical excellence) and the Roy Family Award (which is for service and compassionate care). The Roy Award was established by a family who felt they received excellent care at St. Joseph and wanted to turn around and honor nurses each year. This award also has a monetary gift with the award.
Well...I was awarded the Roy Family Award this year. What an honor to receive this award! It came at a good time for me for I was feeling a little burned out and now I am rejuvenated to keep on working :)
Here's me receiving my award:

Katie Skelton talking about me (ok - that is a bit embarrassing! I hate being in the spotlight!)
Here's the actual excerpt:

"Debbie Bolton is a very special nurse and a worthy recipient of the Roy Family Award for patient service. She has been an employee here at St Joseph Hospital for 20 years and the majority of them have been in the labor and delivery department. Debbie was raised in the area which gives her the unique ability to know several of the families that present to L&D, which is a connection that Debbie takes in stride. When patients see her in Labor and Delivery and are greeted with her friendly smile, no matter how hard their contractions are or how busy Debbie is, they seem relieved to know a familiar face. Frequently she will be requested by these patients to be cared for by her, which she gladly accommodates. When she is on the unit this is fairly easy, but when it is the middle of the night and this request comes in, Debbie frequently will get up and come in. That is dedication. One patient wrote, 'Thanks for your caring, you are fabulous and God bless you for being so caring, patient and loving. You made my delivery a memorable one'

Debbie is very active in our Perinatal Comfort Care program which cares for patients that are expecting a baby with a lethal diagnosis. She takes great care in capturing their requests for delivery to make sure these families, who may only have a few precious moments to celebrate their child's life, find comfort with their birthing experience. She frequently cares for these patients in labor, which at times is emotionally draining but Debbie treats each family with love and compassion even though her own heart is breaking. What a comfort she is to those who have such high needs. She excels in providing expert nursing care while attending to the complex social, and spiritual needs of her patients.

Thank you Debbie for delivering perfect care and providing sacred encounters along the way, you are an inspiration to all of us"

My L&D friends!