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Jean Blythe: ALMH Nurse of the Year
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[May 18, 2011]
Jean Blythe's mannerisms as a nurse and
a person did not go unnoticed by a patient who nominated her to be
Nurse of the Year at Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital.
"Jean is always very nice to everyone," the patient wrote on a
nomination form. "Whenever I see her, she has a smile on her face.
When she took care of me when I had my son, she always did a great
job."
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 Blythe began her nursing career 15 years ago right out of
nursing school into the
department where she still works -- Family
Maternity Suites. Before going to nursing school, she worked at home
raising four children, who were all born at ALMH.
As Blythe was honored last week among seven of her peers, she was
visibly surprised but spoke a few words to acknowledge the caliber
of the ALMH staff.
"I never thought I could be nominated for Nurse of the Year and
win because I know everybody here and they do such good jobs," she
said.
Her job on the obstetrics unit requires a wide variety of
responsibilities in caring for labor patients, outpatients, new
mothers and babies. She also inputs orders, cleans messes and helps
other nurses.
"It's very rewarding and demanding work," she says. "Nurses are
teachers, caregivers, mechanics, computer-users, listeners,
organizers and many other roles. It's not just a job, but a career
and a way of life. What nurses do impacts their patients in many
ways, hopefully all positive."
She has also worked as a waitress, cashier, mental health
technician and stay-at-home mom.
She got her associate degree from Lincoln College and then her
bachelor's in nursing from Mennonite College of Nursing. ALMH was
her first choice as an employer.
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Her co-workers and supervisors describe her as loving,
compassionate and calm in a crisis. She is very reassuring to those
who are anxious or in pain, says LaVerne Landers, director of
nursing at ALMH.
"One could almost miss this nurse in a group of other staff,"
Landers says. "She is unassuming and quiet in manner. She goes about
her tasks without fanfare or a need for accolades. She is generous
in her praise of her peers and seeks to be a comfort to those she
serves."
Blythe says she loves her ALMH family and has enjoyed getting to
know the acute care staff better since it is now on the same floor
with Family Maternity Suites.
"The people I work with are great. We are really a team," she
says. "I love helping the girls in labor and caring for new
families."
ALMH is a 25-bed community hospital serving the people of Logan
and eastern Mason counties.
[Text from file received
from Abraham Lincoln Memorial
Hospital]
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