Kimberly A Sleigh
March 2026
Kimberly A
Sleigh
,
RN
DuBois Community Based Outpatient Clinic
James E. Van Zandt VA Medical Center
Altoona
,
PA
United States
His life was fuller in a few short months than it had been in years. He saw Kim as his guardian angel.
I brought a neighbor to the VA in Altoona when he broke his hip. He was sent to UPMC for surgery and went to a nursing home for rehab. When he was discharged from the nursing home, he was to have follow-up from the VA, but told me no one had called. I reached out to the Dubois VA. We discovered that the VA had been calling, but the veteran was not answering the calls, and his voicemail was full. Dubois VA was able to assist the Veteran with setting up appointments with a PACT team.
Kim Sleigh was the nurse for his team, and she was quick to get him so many services on his first visit. She got his glasses fixed, got him an eye doctor appointment, a hearing appointment, a podiatry appointment, and had him see the social worker. She did everything she could to help him. He cried; he could not believe that someone would do all of this for him. He did not feel he deserved the services. Kim assured him that he had earned this care, and she would make sure he received it.
He called her every day just to check in, and he would laugh and joke with her. She got him lunch a couple of times when he was in the clinic for multiple appointments. He was only a part of the Dubois CBOC for 2 short months, but Kim did so much for him in that little time. She got him a dentist appointment, and he was going to get dentures made. She helped him get shoes. She got him a walker. She was even working on better housing for him because he lived alone in a camper.
This is a man who had no one when he fell, and by starting services with the VA, he suddenly had a village of people fighting for him, caring for him. His life was fuller in a few short months than it had been in years. He saw Kim as his guardian angel.
Kim spoke to him the day before he died. He told her he was coming in for a visit and that it was his turn to get her lunch. They laughed and planned to see each other on the visit.
That night, the veteran's home caught fire, and he was killed. The news was hard for Kim, but in true Kim fashion, she did not stop caring for him. She worked with the coroner and stayed in touch until she got the veteran buried in a military cemetery. She was going to make sure that she cared for him until the end.
He had no one in his life for so long. He was lucky to have met Kim. He had a person in his life for the first time in a long time. She is an angel. Thank you to the VA for what you do for those who served.
Kim Sleigh was the nurse for his team, and she was quick to get him so many services on his first visit. She got his glasses fixed, got him an eye doctor appointment, a hearing appointment, a podiatry appointment, and had him see the social worker. She did everything she could to help him. He cried; he could not believe that someone would do all of this for him. He did not feel he deserved the services. Kim assured him that he had earned this care, and she would make sure he received it.
He called her every day just to check in, and he would laugh and joke with her. She got him lunch a couple of times when he was in the clinic for multiple appointments. He was only a part of the Dubois CBOC for 2 short months, but Kim did so much for him in that little time. She got him a dentist appointment, and he was going to get dentures made. She helped him get shoes. She got him a walker. She was even working on better housing for him because he lived alone in a camper.
This is a man who had no one when he fell, and by starting services with the VA, he suddenly had a village of people fighting for him, caring for him. His life was fuller in a few short months than it had been in years. He saw Kim as his guardian angel.
Kim spoke to him the day before he died. He told her he was coming in for a visit and that it was his turn to get her lunch. They laughed and planned to see each other on the visit.
That night, the veteran's home caught fire, and he was killed. The news was hard for Kim, but in true Kim fashion, she did not stop caring for him. She worked with the coroner and stayed in touch until she got the veteran buried in a military cemetery. She was going to make sure that she cared for him until the end.
He had no one in his life for so long. He was lucky to have met Kim. He had a person in his life for the first time in a long time. She is an angel. Thank you to the VA for what you do for those who served.