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Host: Hi. I'm Julie Carter, Vice President for Mission services. And I'm so pleased to bring you this installment of Word Indeed, where we visit with colleagues from around St. Mary's Healthcare System to hear their experience working within our ministry. Pam Jones is a nurse at St. Mary's Hospital in Athens working in the inpatient rehabilitation unit.

Pam speaks about the challenge of caring for her patients when restrictions had to be imposed, limiting family and visitors. She describes how her faith instilled courage in her, despite uncertainties with the coronavirus. Most of all, I think you'll come to understand that she views her time with her patients as sacred. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Pam Jones: Hi, I'm Pam Jones. I'm an RN here at St. Mary's in Athens. I came here as a student. I'm late-in-life nurse, a second career. And I came here, I did some clinicals here. I did some at Clearview in Monroe, that's now Piedmont, some at Piedmont here in Athens and here at St. Mary's. And then when it came time for my practicum, I had asked for St. Mary's, because I felt real at home here on my clinicals. And it looked like that wasn't going to happen. And they had already taken all the students they were going to take. And I was going, I think, to Clearview and I got a call and said that a preceptor, someone had agreed to be my preceptor on the fifth floor, which is where I had done my student clinicals and I had loved it there. And so Stephen Moon had agreed to be preceptor. And I learned so much from him and I just felt right at home there.

So when it came time to apply, I applied at St. Mary's and I applied to several other places as well, but I started putting in my applications. And before I graduated, I heard that I was going to be hired on the fifth floor, not on fifth floor med-surg, but on rehab. I didn't care where on fifth floor. I had just fallen in love with all of them and had such good experience there.

Host: So how long have you been with us?

Pam Jones: Five years.

Host: Five years now?

Pam Jones: May will be my five-year anniversary.

Host: I think I see a Daisy pin.

Pam Jones: I have two Daisy pins. I've asked Ms. Jen if I can get -- mine broke this week, my middle one, with my little five daisies sewn on it. So I

Host: don't

Pam Jones: love my Daisy pins because those are from my patients, and I love them.

Host: So,

Pam Jones: And that's the program I'm glad you all put into practice here at Mary's.

Host: So were there any particular patients that come to mind when you think about those Daisy awards?

Pam Jones: Absolutely. I like to treat all my patients like they're my family, but some just, you know, are just closer to you. mean, all of them, I treat the same way, but some you just seem to bond with and with the family. And the first Daisy award, that dear couple that came here and came back for me to get the little pin and everything. I was so thrilled and just so happy to see them. That's one reason I like being on rehab is because we have our patients for so long. We have them seven to 14, up to 21 days, some we've had for months. And I like not having the quick turnover. I like having the relationship with the patient.

Today, I was feeding a one-on-one feeder with my little patient and just trying to make sure that I give the patient their dignity, you know, as I'm feeding them, try to talk to them about family and make them feel comfortable. And this patient pointed at her a little red sponge adapter, and I said, "Would you like to feed yourself?" And she said, "Yes." And so I put it on her fork and she started and then sometimes I would have to put the food on it for her, but I would hand it to her and let her put the food in her mouth.

And then I like for them to feel comfortable with me. And so she's doing her mouth funny and she says, "My teeth. There's something in my teeth." "Could you use a fork as a toothpick?" You know, I just like being that close to my patients and see them achieve, see them come into rehab and not be able to, maybe to do it for themselves. And their goal is to be able to do it for themselves and get back home to their family. So that's my reward, when I see them go home to their family. And my first Daisy award, he got to go home to his family. He didn't get to stay, but he at least had that time that he got to go for a while.

Host: What I love about hearing you talk is how you're really focused on like that whole person you know, you're not approaching it as a transaction, "We got to get you fed now." And instead it's part of that relationship building and seeing them, to the very best that they can be independent, you know, retain that sense of wholeness and dignity.

Pam Jones: And dignity. I always try to let them keep their dignity. Whatever I'm having to do for them, I want them to have their dignity, because that's the last thing that they have, some of them that have.

Host: Absolutely. Absolutely.

But it seems to me that there's something about you that you intuitively know a healing presence, you know. It's more than just The medicine or the exercises or, you know, it's seeing that person for the person. That to me seems to be really, you know, a gift that not everybody has and that you really bring to the patient.

Pam Jones: Thank you. This year has been hard, not having families. I mean, we would have one patient that we would spoil and baby, and we'd be their family. And this year, we've had to be everybody's family. And it's been really hard, because the Daisy awards that I have won, those have been as much the family as the patient, you know, because I'm working with the whole unit and, oh, we've missed that this year very much. Very much.

Host: Yeah. I was going to ask about that, because, you know, obviously, we're trying to keep everybody safe from the virus, but there's a toll.

Pam Jones: The emotional toll is terrible.

Host: Yeah. And that's a struggle when we're trying to heal body, mind and spirit, right?

Pam Jones: Right. It's been rough on the nurses. I mean, we didn't know how much it would affect us. Well, we never, ever dreamed how much it would affect us to not have family involved, because we'd always been able to baby that one patient and be their family, but then it's everybody

Host: knowing

Pam Jones: that

Host: the others were all taken care of by their family. Right.

Pam Jones: The worst day was the day that the visitor policy came down during the day, the no visitor policy. And I had, a. I call them a family. I had a patient, a husband and wife wo had been married 60 something years and they had never spent a night apart. So he would spend as much time as we allowed. And I had to go into that room and tell him, "Starting today as of now, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." He said, "When can I come back?" I said, "You can't come back." "When will I see her again?" you're in. I said, "When you pick her up to go home." That was for me one of the hardest days I had. It was the actual day that the visitor policy came down initially. It's a tough year.

Host: Yeah. And to have to carry that message and to know the impact on him.

Pam Jones: On him in particular. I mean, it's hard on anybody, but I knew what it meant to them, because he had never spent a night away from his wife in something like 69 years. And he did everything he could to spend all of as much hours as we'd let him with her until that moment. So yeah, that really brought it home.

Host: Yeah. I hope she went home soon.

Pam Jones: She did, you know,

would, that is one thing, we would try to get people better even faster. And my, first thing I tell them on admission is, they say, "How long will I be here?" I say, "Well, average day seven to 14 days up to 21 normally. Some people are here longer, some go home sooner. But I want to tell you the harder you work with your therapist, the sooner you'll get home. If you don't work, you'll be here a while. If you don't work at all, we can't keep you. But if you don't work really hard, you'll be here for the longest time." And I tell them about the meetings and how we meet and I'll discuss how they're doing and come up with a proposed go home date that's not set in stone. I said, "That date is determined by what they see of you in this first week. What you present to them that you're willing to do to get home." And that seems to be a good motivating factor with a lot of my patients that really want to go home.

Host: I'll bet.

Pam Jones: that

Host: it would be for me.

Pam Jones: Yeah.

Host: Well, thank you. Is there anything else you got to say this?

I had mentioned to you about the Blessing of Hands, how special that was. When I came, I made the decision, I readjusted my thinking from a wound care nurse to whatever nurse I was called to be. And in readjusting that, I, just fell in love with St. Mary's, the atmosphere here, the nurses, the charge nurses, the floor nurses, the techs, Everybody I met was so kind to me in my practicum. So I had a 100, 150, whatever it is, 150, 180 hours here. So that's a good bit of time. And I didn't realize how much I cared about St. Mary's in the very beginning until that Blessing of Hands ceremony. And I just stood there and cried, as she anointed my hands with oil and prayed the prayer and blessed our hands.

And then that was very special to me this year when our chaplain came to us and he said, "We're just trying to think of something to do. You know, we know this has been hard on you." And it was not too long after I had to tell that little man he wasn't going to get to see his wife again until she went home. And he said, "Would anybody like their hands blessed?" And I know there were like three of us immediately that

Pam Jones: I

Host: said, oh yes. And it was just as special to me that day as the first day, because I felt like we were being blessed in this new situation that we were in and that this organization cared about us enough to have people in place that were watching out for us and how we felt and how we are reacting to a pandemic, because none of us signed up to be pandemic nurses.

Pam Jones: nurses.

And I appreciate having chaplains, you know, for our patients. I love the way they check with us, and what needs do you have, what have you noticed. Of course, we put in the counsels, but they come around and they ask you what we noticed. Today, he came by, Steve came bt and said, "Do you have any COVID patients?" I said, "No. Today. We don't. Yay!" and we all smiled, you know. But I know that he's reaching out, especially, you know, to whatever the need is. And I have asked him for prayers for my own family and, he goes beyond just, "What do your patients need?" so there've been times I've asked for prayers when my daughter had cancer and, I appreciate those prayers and she's good and got her a new job in nursing administration. She's so happy.

Host: Well, absolutely. I mean, we are in a very sacred space taking care of patients, but really, we have an obligation to be taking care of each other too, right? so yeah, that healing presence is meant for everybody, right? that mission of being a healing presence, because we all come with burdens. There's not one of us in this building that doesn't have something going on behind the scenes. And trying to be gentle about that and mindful of that is really important.

Pam Jones: And my faith means so much to me. So being at a faith-based organization is just wonderful. So I pray every day, and I certainly have prayed through COVID more earnestly than ever, and I would pray every morning when I got here for God to keep me and my coworkers and my patients that didn't already have COVID safe from COVID and help those that did. And I would open the door out in the employee parking lot. And I would put my foot down and I would feel my favorite verse, is the peace that surpasses all understanding. And I would just feel that wash out on me from head to toe as I step out. And then, I go through my day and I'm totally at peace. I was totally unafraid. I was volunteered to be the first COVID tester on my floor because somebody had to do it. And, uh, I was just totally fearless. Not totally fearless, I should say. In the back of my mind, I was very cautious, but I felt like that God was protecting us.

And so then I would get back in the car and when I clicked the car door shut, all the weight of the world, all the worries of the world, taking this home to my husband or my 90-year-old mother or whatever would terrify me. But I didn't feel that when I stepped out of that door. I never felt it, but I would feel it. And I might cry all the way home sometimes, but not always, but sometimes. But I didn't own the job. I mean, I felt perfectly safe here and that God was guiding me through what I had to do.

Host: Pam, thank you. You've been so generous and genuine in sharing, you know, your experience and your story. I am so appreciative of it. Thank you.