If you were to ask any member of Douglas Gardens Hospices dedicated team of physicians, nurses, social workers, dieticians, home health aides, chaplains, counselors and volunteers who best exemplifies DGHs commitment to caring, personalized care for terminal patients and their families chances are theyd tell you “Jeanne Menard.”
Menard, who immigrated to Miami from Cap-Haitien, Haiti, in 1976, has worked in healthcare since she was 20 years old. She has been a hospice Certified Nurse Assistant for 16 years, the last five with Douglas Gardens Hospice, an affiliate of Miami Jewish Home and Hospital.
Menards workday begins at 5:30 a.m. early enough for her to go to church before starting on her rounds. “I go to pray to God for me to have patience with my patients,” she explains. By 7 AM she is visiting the first of up to five patients for the day. In most instances, Douglas Gardens Hospice takes care of patients in their homes, so they can stay in their familiar environment at the end of their life. Menard will typically bathe them, do some light housekeeping, and perhaps run some errands. What distinguishes her as a hospice caregiver is the depth of the emotional bond she forms with her patients even though some of them are in her care for only a few days, and some are so ill they are barely aware of her presence. Its not unusual for her to return for a second visit at the end of the day to see how a patient is doing and spend time with their family, offering her support and love. As Regina Di Pietro, Douglas Gardens Hospices Director of Clinical Operations, puts it, “Jeanne is the kind of nurses aide who does not just do her job; she is a loving, caring friend to her patients. Her families know her by name and come to depend on her.”
“If you want to do this job, you have to do it with your heart,” Menard explains. “You have to have your heart in it so you give tender loving care. My heart is in my work. I could work all day, not looking at the money. I listen to them. I talk to them. I try to make them feel comfortable.” She says the most satisfying thing about her job is “When they say, Thank you. That means I did a good job. When they say, Thank you, Jeannie, you care.”
Certified Nurse Assistant
