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Cardinal Health Latest News
05/05/2021
Cardinal Health employees celebrate their favorite healthcare heroes
In honor of National Nurses Week (May 6th through May 12th), we asked employees to share personal stories about the extraordinary and essential care that nurses provide. Here are just a few highlights.
From Mary Howard, Product Manager, Products and Solutions Marketing, Mansfield, Mass.: My sister, Anna, was only nine months into her nursing career at a hospital in New York City when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Her hospital floor was one of the first to take on COVID-19 patients last March. In the year-plus since, she has been working the night shift, devoting countless hours to caring for peoples’ loved ones. She has helped care for hundreds of COVID-19 patients and has helped save many lives. My entire family is so proud of her resilience and courage.
From Keira Gorris, Supervisor, Employee Relations and Labor Relations, Twinsburg, Ohio: When my son, Luke, was 11 days old, he was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. He’d been diagnosed with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), a common respiratory virus that can be very serious in infants. Luke was put on a respirator and began fighting for his life.
His first nurse was Anthony. At the beginning of every shift, Anthony came into Luke’s room and asked me what type of music I thought Luke would like, and adjusted the radio accordingly. Every day, Anthony told me that music is healing. He always made me smile with this routine, but more importantly, he made me feel for a moment that things couldn’t be so bad. With that small gesture, he helped put me at ease during the most stressful time of my life.
Anthony was right: Music does help heal. Luke is now a thriving, happy, energetic and music-loving six-year-old. I owe a large part of that to Anthony and all the nurses in the PICU. They will always be my angels on earth.
From Stephanie Pavol, Senior Manager, Product and Solutions Marketing, Dublin, Ohio: I am eternally grateful for Bronwyn Wright and the amazing labor and delivery, high risk, and other Mother and Infant Care nurses at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. They helped me through a scary and challenging delivery of my first son six years ago. Despite the rough delivery, both my son and I recovered quickly and are healthy due to the wonderful care we received. When my son was a year old, I had the privilege of thanking my care team in person as part of the work Cardinal Health does to recognize nurses. I’m pleased to thank them again today.
From Shawn Hollenbach, Director of Content Strategy and Social Media, Monterey, Mass.: Just after Thanksgiving last year, my dad was diagnosed with COVID-19 and was admitted to a hospital in Fredericksburg, Pa. His illness was complicated by his chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); he had to stay in the hospital for two and a half months.
One of the things that made his long stay so difficult for all of us was that he didn’t have a smartphone. But one of his care providers was a phenomenal nurse named Emily, who got him an iPad to use – so he could have video calls with us. Emily went above and beyond in other ways, too. One day my dad asked her to get him a hamburger; Emily promised she would bring one in for him the day he was released. And she did!
My dad attributes his recovery to the kindness and care he received in the hospital. We are forever grateful to Emily: Thank you for all that you do.
From Katie Kohart, Advisor, Data Analytics, Dublin, Ohio: My dad was admitted to a hospital Intensive Care Unit with a viral infection in early January 2020. The nurse who cared for him also took care of the rest of my family. She was so caring, and was an important part of our support system when we had to say goodbye to my father, before we were really ready to. I still think about her and her compassion and grace. She often took the time to take extra steps for my father and our family – and that had a huge impact on all of us.
Michaela Leach, Senior Specialist, Product and Solutions Marketing, Dublin, Ohio: My mom has been a nurse with Cleveland Clinic for more than 30 years, in several different roles. The position she recalls with the most heartfelt memories is her early role as a hospice nurse. To this day she shares stories of the patients she helped make comfortable in the last weeks of their lives and the families she spent time with in the process. She still hears from many of those families.
She was with many people on their worst days – and I know that her presence helped to bring them closure and comfort. She has a calming, compassionate energy that stretches far beyond her patients and well into her everyday life. She truly is a light in the darkness.