June 2019
Kathleen
Buchen-Barbara
,
RN
Outreach
Mount Carmel Street Medicine
,
OH
United States

 

 

 

You asked for an example of someone who demonstrates "empathy that exceeds expectations" and nothing describes my friend, Kathleen more. One example of this is her advocacy and compassion for the Hispanic/Latino women of our community. This year, as she always does, she organized a free mammogram day with Mount Carmel's Mobile Mammography. She organizes this day for the Hispanic/Latino patients that Mount Carmel Street Medicine serves. I watched this year as she painstakingly and lovingly took on this enormous project again. She spent hours making phone calls, sending emails, and scheduling appointments. The barriers to this service for many clients are clear - no insurance, no primary care provider, non- English speaking, but Kathleen doesn't believe in barriers. When I asked her how the event had gone, she smiled and said, "It went well. Thank you for asking." I later learned that her event had an over 90% show rate (incredible!) and that at least one of the 20+ patients who had gotten a mammogram that day was found to have abnormalities. In our world, that's the potential for one life saved through early testing & diagnosis. Kathleen would never tell you that what she is doing is special, but I will tell you that she is special. I will tell you that these are only a few of the many patients she has been a devoted advocate for during her 15 years with Mount Carmel Outreach & Street Medicine. It is a privilege to know and serve with her.