Michele Laib
February 2017
Michele
Laib
,
BSN, RN
Renal Clinic
Phoenix VA Health Care System
Phoenix
,
AZ
United States

 

 

 

Michele is truly a wonderful nurse and a special person whoseintegrityis beyond reproach. She is aveteran-centric, exceptionally hard-working, and extraordinarily conscientious self-starter that embodies our ICARE values here at the VA.
From the moment Michele began working with us, she was performing her assigned duties with the skill and mastery not seen by many others before her. I guess we shouldn't be surprised with her over 20 years here ofcommitmentat the Phoenix VA. She brought a breadth of knowledge and a fresh perspective to the job that helped us all ensure the highest level of patient care possible. Her constant drive, as well as process improvement, is something we all benefit from.
At thepointytipof the spear, she is the first person the veteran comes in contact with when they check into our clinic. Her consistently warm and calming demeanor immediately puts the veterans at ease as they can sense she is a veteran'sadvocate. Michele is always quick with the right comment, a positive attitude that projectsrespectwith delivered with a professional disposition that is very comforting to all. She has stepped up in some very difficult clinical situations has madethe positive differenceeach and every time for both veterans and staff alike. She is the type of nurse and co-worker that I, and for that matter any patient dream of.
Michele's impact has been significant. She immediately recognized that we had been using an antiquated system as part of the patient appointment processing that was unnecessary andtime consuming. After a comprehensive analysis, she articulated the current process, its inadequacies, and how more efficiently we could all do this job. She got immediate buy-in from 100% of the staff and implemented the change. More importantly, Michele followed up to assure her change had the desired result, which it did! Her change in this process resulted in reduced work for our administrative staff and providers alike. As a result of her insight, strive forexcellenceand hard work, her efforts will save the VA precious resources in real time and money better spent on veterans' care for years to come, something we could all use more of!
Although we all know there are many outstanding nurses within the VA, Michele stands apart as she is the personification of our ICARE values.