Carrie Davenport, RN

Carrie has a long-standing connection with a patient who continues to call her daily. This patient is illiterate, has had severe financial and emotional struggles, and is one of those patients who feels like someone he met here actually cares about him.

He calls her for the simplest advice questions, and takes a two-hour bus ride to the hospital to meet her at McDonald's to talk through when he is having issues or doesn't know how to handle a situation. Carrie takes the time to speak with him every single time. Whether it is a phone call, a meet in McDonald's, etc., she takes the time to be there for him.

He has family who are apparently not interested in helping him, so he has called Carrie his "angel." He told her that she was the only person he felt he could talk to because she is the only one who cares.

I watched Carrie work with many partners, including the Cancer Center, APS, and a few others, to address a situation that was borderline harmful to this patient. She continually coordinates with the clinic staff to ensure that information is updated, his appointments are rescheduled as needed, and questions are addressed. I have watched clinic staff and case managers call her to reach out to the patient, ensuring that information is provided to the patient.

She continually takes the time to educate this patient, not only on how he can accomplish things on his own, but also on the management of his disease process. When he was in the hospital recently, she ensured she went to the bedside to visit him and address any concerns he had while here in the hospital.

Her advocacy efforts led to a new home for this patient to move to that not only saves him valuable monetary resources each month, but also gives him back his food stamp benefits and removes him from a potentially dangerous living environment he was in previously.

He was so grateful that he made the two-hour bus trip to bring her a bouquet of flowers around Valentine's Day, just to say thank you. He then asked for a resource to find a dictionary so he could attempt to write her a letter.

I have heard this patient break down in tears of gratitude when speaking with her, because her kindness and compassion have helped him not only as a patient, but as a fellow human being.