February 2015
Helen
Convis
,
RN, BSN
Pediatrics
Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital
Hollywood
,
FL
United States
When Oncology patients became newly diagnosed, Helen saw a need with this very special population and acted on it. She recruited the help of her daughter-in-law and developed a non-profit foundation that helps these families stay organized with special bags that include tools to aide in organization of medication administration, laboratory results, chemotherapy regimens and doctor visits, which can be overwhelming to say the least. By helping her patients stay organized, Helen minimizes some of the stress the children and their families have living with these diagnoses. In order to fund raise to support the foundation Helen does yard sales. These yard sales have become a community event. Coworkers, staff, and the community donate gently used items to her events. All profits from the items sold go directly to the foundation. These items, on any given day, consume and take over her house! Despite her own personal adversities, the loss of her husband, Helen has never wavered in her dedication to help these families. You have probably seen her bags in use never realizing who was behind them because she prefers to remain anonymous to keep the focus on the children and families. I would like to nominate Helen for her selflessness in caring for the families at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital and the community. Everyone should know just how amazing she is!