In June of 2024, the MFT1 Pre Post unit opened. This unit joined two very different areas of nursing care, cardiology, procedural, and post-anesthesia care. Jennifer Albert was chosen as the Director of this unit. She came with vast perioperative knowledge.

There were many meetings leading up to the opening of the unit to lay the groundwork to hit the floor running, so to speak, on opening day. These meetings included various staff from both areas of care who came together in planning to bring both worlds into one. This was not an easy task, to say the least. Jennifer facilitated the planning to make opening day a success.

Our unit has come a long way since opening day, thanks to Jennifer's leadership. She leads by example. It is evident to her staff that she cares about the unit and the patients cared for in it. She is present, approachable, and accountable every single day she is there. Our unit includes five different patient "pods", each with its own purpose and focus. I see her every single day visit each of the pods first thing in the morning, before she has even taken her coat off, to see how the day looks, discuss the flow or staffing concerns, and always with a smile on her face and a positive attitude. She even meets the night shift staff faithfully every morning to see how the night went. She is very involved with the charge nurses in each of the pods all day long, with a group secure chat that constantly discusses a continuously changing flow and patient or staff concerns. She fosters a unit that works with an exceptional team approach. If a concern is brought to her attention, there is an immediate response. She is very open to staff input, and that has helped our unit evolve from opening day until now. She is right there alongside us in the trenches, taking charge when needed, cleaning, and even transporting patients. She has an open door, and staff feel comfortable talking to her about anything.

What sets her apart is her compassion and kindness to her staff, which is the main reason I am nominating her for this award. While I was working, Jennifer was visited by the Portland Police. My husband of 27 years had died in a tragic car accident that took the lives of three people. They were there to notify me of his death. My son also works as an X-ray technologist at MMC and was working in the OR that day. She was tasked with getting me from my work to a private area so that the police could notify me as the next of kin of my husband's death. She did not have to remain present during this encounter, but she did. She sat right next to me when they told me and then held me as I cried. She immediately contacted my son's manager to get him out of the case he was working with in the operating room and brought him to me to hear the news, and treated him with the same care. She cried alongside both of us. She also got one of my dearest friends that I work with to come and drive me home. She was left to pick up the pieces on the unit and help my coworkers process what happened to me, as I am close with many of them.

Over the course of the next several weeks that followed, Jennifer was in constant touch with me via texts and calls to see how I was doing, and just checking in on me to tell me she was thinking of me and cared. She let me know about resources available from MMC to me and my son to help us with grieving and answered all of my questions about bereavement, FMLA, PTO time, and not once made me feel guilty about taking time off from work to process what happened. She made me feel cared about, important, and loved.

In addition, she and our nurse manager gave me a beautiful basket filled with the most thoughtful and comforting gifts, above and beyond what I could have ever expected. His death was four months ago, and she still checks in with me. She barely knew me when this happened and has now earned my trust, respect, friendship, loyalty, and I am forever grateful to her.