Geraldine Marie Matney is the nurse I want to be one day! Marie is always willing to step in and step up to help her team. Marie does every task with a smile and a joke – instantly making everyone more comfortable regardless of the situation.

Marie bonds with her patients and truly wants their experience to be a positive one that will make a difference in how they view mental health. We had a patient a while back who was actively attempting to harm himself by bashing his head on the floor. Marie’s quick thinking and actions prevented this from causing physical harm. That may not seem like a lot, but if you could have seen the event, you would understand.

The patient was on the floor, thrashing around and very forcefully trying to bang his head on the floor. Marie got on the floor with him with pillows and literally chased his head all around, sliding pillows under him to provide protection. Many others may have just let it be and then treated any injuries, but not Marie!

Marie is frequently recognized by her team and manager for doing great work, for helping with tasks outside her normal duties, and for picking up shifts or accepting schedule changes to ensure adequate coverage in the unit.