On May 12th, two dedicated nurses from the Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties (VNA) were honored at the Vermont State Nurses' Association, Inc. (VSNA) Centennial Celebration and Award Banquet.
Mary Loney, of Hinesburg, a VNA hospice nurse, received the award for Outstanding Home Health Nurse, and VNA Vice President of Clinical Services Patricia Donehower, of Burlington, was presented with the award for Outstanding Nurse Leader in a Community setting.
The VSNA celebration and award ceremony featured the theme “Honoring our Past – Leading the Way to our Future.” Awards in 10 categories were presented to outstanding nurses from across Vermont.
Mary Loney, RN, CHPN, began her nursing career in 1974 working in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities before shifting to home health when she joined the VNA ten years ago. Loney was interested in learning about hospice care and quickly became a Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Nurse. Loney is a former board member of the Vermont Alzheimer’s Association and has spent countless hours sharing her end-of-life care expertise at senior living communities and nursing facilities throughout Chittenden County.
“For me it was always about having a relationship with the patient,” says Loney. “Working with patients when they’re dying … well, there’s no more intimate relationship that you can have.”
Colleagues who nominated Loney for the Outstanding Home Health Nurse award cited her expert nursing skills and her ability to gain the trust of physicians as well as patients and families. Nominators said other nurses look to Loney as a role model and patients and families look to her for comfort and strength.
Most telling of all are the hundreds of comments from grateful families the VNA has received during Loney’s ten years of caring for people at the end of life. One such note read: “Thank you for your extraordinary strength and compassion … My Dad always lit up when he saw you and was so comforted by your calm assurance.” Another family member wrote: “You are truly a gifted person and nurse … know that you have won your way to heaven.”
For Loney, it all comes down to enhancing quality of life and helping people with terminal illness spend their final days where they most want to be – at home and surrounded by familiar sights, sounds and people.
“I talk about caring for the living until they die; not caring for the dying … to be able to live and die in the place that you call home, I would wish that for anyone,” Loney says.
Patricia Donehower, MSN, RN, joined the VNA in 1999 as the Director of Adult Home Care and is now Vice President of Clinical Services overseeing five divisions of the agency and supervising staff who represent the full spectrum of VNA services from early intervention to end-of-life care. Prior to her home health career, Donehower served in a leadership role in Fletcher Allen Health Care’s Department of Quality Improvement, where she created systems to improve quality care and to track outcomes. She eventually rose to the position of Chief Nursing Officer. Donehower has also been a board member of Vermont Nurses in Partnership, a non-profit public charity that develops programs and resources to support nurse development.
Colleagues who nominated Donehower for the Outstanding Nurse Leader award cited her commitment to training, education, coaching and mentoring of VNA staff as well as nursing students looking to enter the field of home health. Donehower was instrumental in launching the VNA Nurse Resident program, a tailored mentorship program for new graduate students in which nurse residents get to visit patients, apply newly learned skills and gather advice from experienced home health nurses.
Rosemary Dale, Chair and Clinical Professor of the UVM Department of Nursing, has worked with Donehower for over 20 years in many roles. “Pat always has her eye on the needs of the future. She identified the VNA staffing needs and the role the agency would need to play in attracting, orienting and retaining new graduate nursing students,” Dale said.
Even with the demands of her role as VP of Clinical Services, Donehower takes “on-call duty” at least one night a month so she can stay in touch with patient needs and better determine what skills and resources VNA nurses will need to meet those needs.
“She uses her on-call experiences to educate other administrative staff and the VNA Board about the complex health care issues faced by our patients and also the day to day life of staff in the field. Pat is especially cognizant of the fact that patient care is our main priority,” said VNA CEO Judy Peterson.
The VNA is a 108-year-old non-profit home health and hospice agency caring for people of all ages – from critically ill children to vulnerable families to adults who need rehabilitation, care for chronic illness, adult day services or end-of-life care. The VNA provides medically-necessary home and community-based care to individuals and families regardless of their ability to pay. The VNA serves over 4,900 individuals and families in Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties each year. The VNA is proud to be a funded agency of the United Way of Chittenden County.