Meet Our South Pinellas, FL 2015 Nurse of the Year Nominee

Every day, a growing number of dedicated nurses care for aging adults and people with complex medical needs inside their homes, administering daily medications, providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness, and managing personalized plans of care. To pay tribute to the specialized and tireless work of thousands of nurses throughout the network, BrightStar Care launched a national Nurse of the Year program to recognize the nurses who are working hard to deliver A Higher Standard of Home Care each and every day. This year, our Director of Nursing Michele Tevlin was nominated. Here is the nomination letter about Michele: Michele has been a pillar for the agency since she arrived.  She came shortly after opening, with no home care experience to speak of. She had done a few assessments prior to joining us. Her prior experience was as a critical care nurse in the hospital. She has done a terrific job of learning home care and spearheading the clinical portion of our business. Her clinical skills are outstanding. When other field nurses cannot start an IV, or get a pump to work, or any other skilled nursing function, she is called to the rescue and always comes through. Her critical thinking skills are outstanding in the field. We have had several clients who have hired us to look after them with 24/7 nursing being provided.  They have all been medically fragile.  Michele has had to navigate their care and act as their advocate and spokesperson throughout their time with us.   She is frequently called upon to triage medical issues as they arise, whether it be clogged PEG tubes or troubles managing a trach.  She again and again, demonstrates outstanding clinical skills.  She is frequently interacting, guiding and helping the patient’s doctors in providing the appropriate care.  She is a great patient advocate on every level, internally and externally.    She demonstrates a great deal of compassion towards our clients and families, who most frequently trust her completely.   She earns their trust and loyalty. She provides great mentoring and leadership to the field staff.   She guides her nurses and aides, not only from a clinical perspective, but also from a human one.  She provides leadership, discipline and encouragement to the field staff.   She effectively mentors the other full time nurse on staff who works closely with her.   She will act as staffing coordinator and makes sure any and all cases are staffed in a time of need.  She works in the office without regard to job description or rank.  She will drop whatever she is doing to help HR or staffing with a need.  She is a tireless worker who will frequently work 60, 70 and 80 hour weeks if needed.  She will come into the office at 4 AM to catch up on her work.  She’ll work a weekend shift if needed.  She is also a great marketer and is capable to getting referrals and developing close relationships with our referral sources.  She is a great ally in the field and I trust her in any building, with any referral source or with any family member.  Lastly, she also provides the office and team with an abundance of fun. She is light-hearted, positive and works with passion and enthusiasm.   She rarely has to be talked off the ledge or given a pep talk.  She genuinely cares about her team and is the first to remember a birthday, buy a gift, or to make you laugh in the office.   She doesn’t take herself too seriously, and knows how to laugh at herself, and with others.   She’ll organize social events and lead the charge.  She is an asset to this team in more ways than I can count.  A great nurse is one who has more than strong clinical skills.  She makes this office and team better in more ways than can be measured. We would not be where we are today as a franchise without her strong contribution.