Everyone knows it takes someone special to become a nurse. It’s been said many times, nursing is not a job, but a calling. At the Peals Family Chemotherapy Center at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, nurses are continually called to care for the most vulnerable and sick patients in our community. All too often in Humboldt, these patients face additional challenges in their battle with cancer – transportation to treatments, paying for medicine, proper nutrition.
In March, Ivy Brewster, a charge nurse at Peals Family Chemotherapy Center, along with fellow nurse Lynnette Freitas, saw an opportunity to fulfill their calling.
After receiving treatment, one of their patients had gone home tired and too exhausted to pick up her much needed medication. Because she had no car and was in no condition to travel, the patient made contact with the nurses at Peals. Ivy and Lynnette did not hesitate to act. They came up with a plan that they would deliver the medication to the patient at home. Ivy called in the prescription and paid for it, Lynnette drove to the pharmacy to pick it up, and then drove to the patient’s home to make an old-fashioned house call.
“It was late in the day and she felt awful, and was not in any shape to try to pick up her medication’s on her own,” explained Brewster. “It was either we help her out or she would have had to go by ambulance to the Emergency Department to receive treatment.”
Both nurses agree, this is the part of their profession that is the most rewarding.
“As nurses, we are caregivers. That is what leads us to be here, doing this work.” said Freitas. “Working in the chemo clinic, we see these patients and families at a very frightening time in their life, and we care for them. Not just delivering care, but getting to know them, and truly caring for them. We cry and grieve the losses, and we rejoice in the victories. It’s an incredible and sacred place to be. I feel so privileged to work here.”
“Oncology patients are kind, appreciative, and enjoy every moment they have,” added Brewster. “I feel extremely privileged that I am welcomed into someone’s most intimate part of life. I will never do anything other than Oncology for the rest of my nursing career. It is special and I love it.”