Lisa Keenan has been an unrelenting, shining beacon for mental health for our SSM group for over twenty years. Our patients have relied on her for support at their most vulnerable times. Lisa receives calls from people in crisis, who are suicidal and hopeless. She has not only comforted them, but has guided them to safety with careful planning, collaboration with friends and family, and coordinating with the treating physicians.
Lisa is on the front lines, and even when her patients are not sure they want help, she is unwaveringly kind and caring. This is a challenge when those we try to help are angry in general or express it directly at the provider. Lisa manages to redirect, deflect and help these people regardless of their demeanor.
Many patients have come to me directly and said, "I would not be here if Lisa had not helped me." Patients routinely, daily, ask me to tell Lisa "thank you" for her help in finding a therapist, getting access to a critical medication, straightening out a misunderstanding with a family member or provider. The responsibility of helping those in such critical need can be wearing and lead to burn out. What makes Lisa so unusual is that under the duress of the constant clinical pressure, she provides caring in the kindest way to which people will naturally respond. She is able to do so without the understandable, curt or short responses all of us can have in our clinical lives. Lisa Keenan is a role model for us all and is a true DAISY Nurse.