September 2026 Honoree
Ashlee Billert, RN
I was a pacemaker patient who, because of a complication, was sent to the ICU overnight for observation. I had a great deal of anxiety about what might happen should my condition worsen overnight. My charge nurse was Ashlee Billert, and she did her best to give me comfort and traditional nursing care.
When my wife and two daughters were visiting, Ashlee, at various points, had them so at ease that they were all laughing, and that helped put me at ease. She physically checked on me during the night, not just by looking at the monitors but by physically coming into the room, knowing that the blood pressure cuff would wake me every hour. She even pulled my 230-pound body up into the bed so I could sleep more comfortably.
When her shift was coming to an end at 7 AM, Ashlee came in with a coffee that she had ordered specially from the cafeteria before my breakfast. And she lent me her cell phone charger at the end of her shift because mine was not working. During all of this, I really got to know her as a person, her nursing history and education, her high school experience, including her softball and Field Hockey experience, and her plans for her nursing future. I was not her only patient, but Ashlee made me feel as if I were. I cannot say enough about what it meant to have her as my nurse for my single overnight stay.
When my wife and two daughters were visiting, Ashlee, at various points, had them so at ease that they were all laughing, and that helped put me at ease. She physically checked on me during the night, not just by looking at the monitors but by physically coming into the room, knowing that the blood pressure cuff would wake me every hour. She even pulled my 230-pound body up into the bed so I could sleep more comfortably.
When her shift was coming to an end at 7 AM, Ashlee came in with a coffee that she had ordered specially from the cafeteria before my breakfast. And she lent me her cell phone charger at the end of her shift because mine was not working. During all of this, I really got to know her as a person, her nursing history and education, her high school experience, including her softball and Field Hockey experience, and her plans for her nursing future. I was not her only patient, but Ashlee made me feel as if I were. I cannot say enough about what it meant to have her as my nurse for my single overnight stay.
Thank you, Ashlee, for your exceptional compassion, advocacy, and dedication to your patients. You truly make a difference.
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