Christine O'Neil
August 2019
Christine
Oneil
,
RN, CDE
Diabetes Education
Southern New Hampshire Medical Center
Nashua
,
NH
United States

 

 

 

Christine was working at endocrinology as a diabetes educator. She expressed concern about a situation involving a 20-year-old clinic patient who has type 1 diabetes. The patient was upset after she received notification from the department of health and human services that she would be losing her insurance by the end of the month because of a temporary change in her employment; she had been picking up extra shifts to help cover for her fellow employees' vacations. If the patient lost her insurance she would not be able to afford the insulin that she needed to stay alive. Christine worked with the patient for over two hours with the majority of the time spent on the phone with the department of health and human services trying to resolve the issue. She was met by extreme resistance by the staff of the department of health and human service, but she did not back down. She worked through her lunch break advocating for this patient and fighting to find out how to appeal the decision. It was a situation that was far above and beyond her role as a diabetes educator and is an exemplary example of outstanding care and advocating for what's right.