LINDSAY P. CARTER, MD

“Lindsay has taught us all how to be better professionals and better people,” said a colleague of Lindsay Carter, MD. “Her brilliance is in knowing how to do her job, how to care for patients intelligently, and how to make everyone that comes in contact with her to feel better and do better.”

Dr. Carter has served as an inpatient medical director, pediatric hospitalist, and quality and safety leader at the Mass General for Children (MGfC). “She has been my role model for persistence in the face of what appears to be unresolvable, and what fuels her persistence is her compassion for the suffering child and family she is called on to care for,” said a colleague.

In 2018, Dr. Carter helped bring “What Matters To You” – an initiative to help caregivers connect with each patient – to the pediatric units. When COVID struck, Dr. Carter and her colleagues expanded this program to the adult patients they were now caring for. In doing so, she helped provide solace to family members who were restricted from visiting. “I really felt she wanted to know my brother, and I can’t tell you how much this meant to me. He is my heart and I knew he was in such good hands,” said a patient’s sister.

“It’s not always about having the answer or making an illness go away,” said Dr. Carter. “It is about being present, easing the loneliness, and ensuring that patients and families know you have their best interest at heart.”

When COVID forced MGfC’s pediatric general care unit to pivot to adult patient care, the caregivers had to rapidly adjust. Many of the staff members had little experience caring for adults, and had concerns not only about COVID, but also about comorbidities and medications that were unfamiliar to them. Dr. Carter was always available to hear her colleagues’ questions and concerns and provided the education and support they needed.

She also quickly identified the need for personal care items for the adults; these patients had often been taken to the hospital with no belongings and couldn’t have visitors bring them things. “One of the many remarkable things about Lindsay is that, if anyone she encounters has a challenge, she considers it her challenge and sets about solving it.” Dr. Carter sent out a request to her friends, colleagues, and community members asking for those needed items; the response was immediate and overwhelming.

Her care doesn’t end at the hospital’s doors. She has run the Boston Marathon several times to raise money for pediatric cancer at MGfC. In addition to raising critical funds, she always runs in honor of one of the young patients being treated for cancer at MGfC.

She is often cited as a source of strength and support for her colleagues. She helped bring the Joy in Work initiative to the hospital, which has led to the creation of everything from treat carts to a weekly email that disseminates “rays of sunshine”– brief vignettes from staff to highlight happy moments. “She is the glue to keep our teams together, even through the most difficult moments of COVID,” said a colleague. “She creates a healing community in unexpected places. She has the ability to remind us of who we are at our best, and calls that from us.”

PETER DEBLIEUX, MD

Dr. Peter DeBlieux is the chief experience officer and an emergency physician at the University Medical Center New Orleans (UMCNO), a safety net hospital that serves some of the Gulf Region’s most vulnerable populations. He is a long-standing advocate for the care of New Orleans’ marginalized communities. “Compassionate care is going beyond the normal functions of what a hospital needs to operate: it is about attending to the communities we are inspired to lead and serve,” said Dr. DeBlieux.

In 2005, he and his healthcare team were called upon to care for patients, families, and employees during Hurricane Katrina. After the storm and levee breaches, the situation inside Charity Hospital quickly became desperate as water levels rose and power generators were flooded. Dr. DeBlieux and his staff set up a makeshift emergency department on the hospital’s second floor, carrying fifty critically ill patients up the stairs in the stifling heat. They managed to move the entire emergency room using flashlights, while piecing together ventilators for patients. He continued to lead the healthcare community during the aftermath of Katrina, as well as during subsequent disasters, including Hurricane Ida and the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his role as the hospital’s COVID-19 incident commander, he realized early on that families needed to see their loved ones, while minimizing risk to their own health and safety. He was able to work with leaders from around the hospital to create visitor policies, as well as a system of notifying families of how their loved ones were doing via a text messaging service. “Day in and day out, he spreads compassion throughout the hospital [by] taking time to listen, understand, and validate patients’ concerns,” said a colleague.

In addition to his clinical work, Dr. DeBlieux has been instrumental as an administrator for opening UMCNO and helping build and promote the Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care, the Burn Unit, the Homeless Patient Liaison team, and the Chaplain Residency Program. He has also been active in supporting the creation of the DIBE Council for Diversity, Inclusivity, Belonging and Equity.

He helped build a safety reporting tool that specifically addresses patient and staff concerns regarding professionalism, micro- and macroaggressions, as well as acts of sexism, prejudice and racism. “He brings a sense of empathy, integrity and inclusivity to all patient, clinician and outreach encounters he participates in. Dr. DeBlieux has been instrumental in teaching so many of us that it is ok to have boundaries and yet, it is crucial to be empathetic when relaying those boundaries,” said a colleague.

The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the strong need for clinician wellness and Dr. DeBlieux has been an avid supporter and organizer of programs, including the Schwartz Rounds, Stress First Aid groups, and activities around special events and holidays. He has helped support hospital teams during Hurricane activations, when caregivers leave their own families and stay in the hospital for several days to allow others to evacuate. “He is a people’s person and understands the crux of what hospital administrators need to know: clinician support matters,” said a colleague.

WILLIAM “DONNIE” NELSON, BSN, RN, PHN, CPHN

William “Donnie” Nelson, BSN, RN, PHN, CPHN, is a nurse manager of palliative care practices at both Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco. In this role, he cares for some of the most complex cases and most vulnerable patients, many of whom suffer from homelessness, poverty, and substance use disorder, in addition to their physical comorbidities.

“Donnie’s steadfast contribution to the community with compassionate care is honored, respected, and valued. He brings joy and relevance to difficult conversations of death and dying,” said a colleague. “His insight, cultural self-awareness, and humility continue to foster collaboration in the compassionate care arena.”

Palliative care is sometimes misunderstood, not just by patients and families but by healthcare workers themselves. “Too often, death is seen as a failure in medicine, so helping my colleagues get to a place of ‘we didn’t fail our patients’ and knowing that dying is a natural process is another avenue of compassionate care,” said Donnie.

Early in his career, he saw many families suffer when an elderly family member who was dying had no advance care planning completed. Due to these experiences, he started community outreach to normalize these conversations. He has partnered with a variety of community agencies and organizations to advocate for advanced care planning events and advance directive workshops.

Donnie loves to share his passion for palliative care. Before COVID, he was a guest lecturer for the University of San Francisco’s nurse practitioner program in public health. He presents to first-year nursing students at Samuel Merritt to inspire new nurses to become palliative care nurses. His favorite class to teach is at City of College San Francisco’s interpreting program, where he focuses on the importance of language in advanced care planning. His innovative approach recognizes the linguistic and cultural barriers that patients and families may face. “This collaboration raises the bar for our training program and helps to advance health equity for marginalized and underrepresented communities who speak limited to no English,” said a colleague.

Donnie is an advocate for the most vulnerable patients, especially those who do not have family members present. He is often able to find next of kin or friends that others have not been able or willing to find, some of whom haven’t seen their loved ones in decades. “We all have a story, and it is important for the medical team to remember that we are training a person, not just a diagnosis. When I complete due diligence with my team to find a surrogate, really what I was looking for is ‘who knows you, who loves you,’” he said.

During COVID, he vowed that none of his patients would die alone. He worked tirelessly to implement a visitor’s policy that would be compassionate while still maintaining safety standards and trained his staff to use video conferencing platforms to help family members see their loved ones. He even shared his own smartphone with elderly family members when they didn’t have one of their own. In some cases, he acted as a surrogate family member and held a dying patient’s hand during their last moments. “He is passionate about this work in a way I haven’t seen in my 25 years of practicing hospital medicine,” said a colleague.

ZAHIDEE “SAIDIE” RODRIGUEZ, MD

Dr. Zahidee “Saidie” Rodriguez is a pediatric cardiologist and intensivist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. In this role, she cares for critically ill children with congenital heart disease and their families. “The ecosystem around them is an extension of them,” said Dr. Rodriguez. “The child is most compassionately cared for when their ecosystem is also cared for.” For Dr. Rodriguez, this means spending time with her patients and families to build relationships filled with trust and understanding of their values.

She is committed to going the extra mile to help the patients and families in her care. She will often arrange care conferences for her patients even when she is not on call. Because she takes the time to build these relationships, the families know that they can lean on her during their most difficult moments.

A colleague said, “I have been in the room as she has run a code. I’ve sat next to her as she’s told parents that their daughter will likely succumb to her illness. And I’ve stood in a circle of peers as Saidie has led a debrief from a traumatic code and death of a patient. In each of these circumstances, Saidie allows space for sadness and grief, but she also maintains and leads with hope. She is truly extraordinary.”

Dr. Rodriguez knows that the caregiving team is a critical part of a patient’s “ecosystem.” She works closely with her colleagues to make sure they are supported, so that they are empowered to deliver the best possible care. “I want to be sure I offer support, nurture, validation, advocacy, and empowerment to all of the key personnel so that they in turn can commit to not just the medical care of the child, but the human connection, empathy, inquiry and acknowledgement of all that makes up this wondrous child before us,” she said.

As a teacher, she is constantly seeking new ways of learning and sharing her knowledge. She has created teaching sessions, recorded educational videos, and co-created mentoring opportunities for students, fellows, and junior faculty.

She is passionate about advocating, promoting, and supporting wellness for physicians. She served on the Children’s Heart Center Physician Wellness Committee in 2020. She is also the physician liaison and a champion for the Schwartz Rounds.

She is dedicated to promoting equity within her organization and community. She was recently selected for Emory’s Implicit Bias Training Subcommittee, which seeks to address the challenges and craft strategies to overcome inherent biases in medicine. “She frames her values and perspectives on practice as deeply rooted in compassionate person-centered care – extending beyond the child and caregiver to the other members of the healthcare team,” said a colleague.

“I can’t imagine a better physician to take care of the world’s most fragile hearts,” said a colleague.

BEBA TATA-MBENG, MDiv, MPH, BCC

Beba Tata is the manager of spiritual care for Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Beba is known as an exceptional colleague who is dedicated not only to her patients — but also to her colleagues. “She exudes compassion and always puts others’ needs first,” said a colleague.

Since starting at Mayo Clinic, she has developed several programs that focus on healing and compassion for both patients and staff. She created well-being rooms in every unit called “Support our Staff” (SOS) rooms where staff could take short breaks to relax, refresh, and refocus. She spearheaded a series of Tea for the Soul pop-up events, where she and her fellow chaplains provided tea and treats for front-line staff. More than just food, the events were an invitation for healthcare workers to set down their heavy burdens during their shifts and unwind for a few minutes.

Events like these were designed to meet staff where they are and bring moments of respite to staff who are putting in their all to bring the best care to patients. The simple act of handing someone a cup and pouring out hot water for them is an expression of solidarity and compassion: “It is our way of saying: ‘We are together in this. You are not alone, and we affirm you in all you do.’” she says. “I have seen this bring tears of joy to the eyes of our staff.”

Before becoming a chaplain, Beba worked in her native Cameroon as a health counselor, where she was deeply touched by the stories of patients with HIV/AIDS. Her experiences made her realize that she had a calling: “I knew that I wanted to spend my life caring for the sick and suffering, though not as a nurse or a medical doctor,” she said. “I wanted to sit at the bedside and listen to people’s stories, bring comfort and hope, and serve as a guide and companion through their painful journeys.”

Her chaplaincy work provides spiritual and emotional support to patients, families, and staff during their most difficult moments, as they wrestle with feelings of anger, fear, sadness, and anxiety. “Compassionate care means entering into solidarity with those who suffer,” she said. “It is being a companion in the journey with others in their places of brokenness, vulnerability, and loneliness while all the time creating a hospitable non-judgmental space where they can share their stories and experiences. Compassionate care is care that makes people feel heard, affirmed and valued.”

In one case, Beba was called upon to work with a patient who was non-compliant and angry with everyone on his care team. After sitting with the patient and asking about his life, Beba learned that he was estranged from his children and longed to reconcile with them before his death. As his trust in Beba grew, he agreed to let her share this story with his care team, enabling them to contact his children and facilitate a reunion in his final days.

There are countless cases like this where Beba has supported patients by sitting with them and providing an unhurried, non-anxious, non-judgmental presence. She guides each one to tap into the resources that they have within themselves.  As one of her patients said, “She awakened in me something I had forgotten I had — she helped me rediscover hope. ”

THE DAVID JAMES HOSPICE UNIT TEAM

The David James Hospice Unit Team at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans’ Hospital in Bedford, Mass., is comprised of a wide array of caregivers dedicated to giving veterans the best possible care at the ends of their lives. The team consists of doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, recreation therapists, social workers, chaplains, psychologists, dietitians, licensed practical nurses, and nursing assistants.

The hospice team ensures that all aspects of their Veteran’s and family’s needs are met with compassion, by offering education, symptom management and psychological support, as well as consultations with other disciplines outside the team. “End of life is a significant moment in one’s life and we want to ensure that one’s final chapter is worthy of the life they lived,” said a team member. “Compassionate care expands from the mundane to the profound. It’s in our daily interactions, with the veterans and their loved ones, such as holding one’s hand or lending an ear when they are having a tough day, to the larger endeavors where we work to manage the veterans’ symptoms, resolve unfinished business and grant final wishes.”

The team implemented a “No Veteran Dies Alone” program, which is run by volunteers and staff so that every Veteran has someone by their side during their final moments. This program has received national recognition as a best practice, and was honored by the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The hospice staff hold a “Final Salute” for each patient after their death, in which they drape an American flag over the gurney and hold a processional down the hall while playing taps. The team and patient’s family members, as well as any fellow patients who are able, will offer a final salute. It is an incredibly moving experience for all who participate.

Their creativity and compassion became even more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the team to find new ways to keep family members connected via video chat on tablets and cell phones. At times, the devices were provided by the facility, volunteers and sometimes even by the staff themselves. In a few cases, the staff worked with the family member to wear full head-to-toe PPE and sit with their loved one during their final moments to allow them to say goodbye.

“Our children witnessed firsthand the amazing care their father received during his brief six week stay,” said one patient’s spouse. “He was treated with the upmost respect, kindness, patience and with love. For all the staff on the unit, it wasn’t just their job, it was in their hearts.”

The team also takes care of each other. They have implemented team-based interventions to improve communication, promote bonding, and offer a supportive environment. They hold weekly walking rounds with the full interdisciplinary team and monthly support groups for staff facilitated by our psychologist. They also host semiannual memorial services, which offers them the opportunity to honor the patients they have lost and express their own grief.

One patient’s son said, “In his service during WWII, my father was a parachute rigger. His job was to repair and pack parachutes for his fellow soldiers assuring their safe landing on the ground. In his final days, he was lucky enough to have the David James Hospice team packing his last parachute, and giving him the softest, most dignified landing he could ask for. ”