Carrie Chambers is nothing short of a life saver. I first met Carrie three years ago when she was a nurse in family practice. The very first time I talked to her I knew that she was someone I could trust. I was at a point in my life where I was seriously contemplating harming myself. Carrie was someone who just had a way of assuring me that she cared. She cared not because it was her job, but because she is a genuine person. Carrie sat with me appointment after appointment, listening to any concerns I may have had at the time. She never made me feel self-conscious or rushed. She never made me feel like I was an inconvenience.
Carrie helped me establish a relationship as a new patient with one of the providers that she thought would be a good fit for me. Over the past several years, the providers have moved but Carrie has always remained the one constant for me. She has repeatedly gone above and beyond what I would ever expect from anyone in the healthcare field. She has assured me that if I ever just needed to talk, that I could call and speak with her. True to her word, she has made time out of her busy day to squeeze me in for a visit or phone call.
Carrie has recently reached out to me via email to let me know that she would be transferring to another department within the clinic. She explained that she talked to the other "ladies" in family medicine about me and my situation. She has set me up with a nurse that I can reach out to if I ever need it. She found someone who she thought would have the type of personality that I seem to need. Carrie had let all the nurses and unit secretaries know that if I had an appointment she would check me in per my request.
Carrie has also assured me that she will always be around should I need to speak with her, even though she is now in a different department. The fact that she went to all of these measures to make sure I was taken care of speaks volumes about her character. I myself am going to be finishing school to become a registered nurse. If I am only half the nurse that Carrie is, I would be happy. She is exactly the kind of role model that any nurse would be lucky to have. As a patient she serves as a compassionate human who quite possibly saved a life. Little did I know that when I walked into family medicine that first day, depressed and seeking help, that I would walk out as someone with hope knowing that someone genuinely cared about me. Saying thank you to someone for saving your life is just not adequate. I can think of no one else who deserves this award more than Carrie.