It’s raining and Caity Werner, RN, is running late.
On this day, the drive from the Good Shepherd Hospice office in Norman was challenging – to say the least.
But she walks in with a smile.
Just a few years ago it would have been another rough start to another rough day out on her own.
But now, working for Good Shepherd the hospice nurse knows she has an entire team behind her that has her back.
“I had worked for a different hospice and I really liked hospice but that company didn’t always care for their employees,” she said. “I had heard good things about Good Shepherd and basically when I came in for my interview they reassured me they were a team and they worked together.”
Werner began her career as an LPN in 2011. She added her RN in 2014.
“I love just being able to be there for the families and my patients toward the end of their life,” she said. “You get attached and it’s sad to lose your patients but you know they are headed that way and you can be the one to make sure they are comfortable.”
Having an army of support behind her from nurses to social workers to volunteers makes life a lot easier for everyone.
“I like that they have a completely separate on-call team and that they’re not having nurses that are out all day work all night,” she said. “They have a team for admissions so you’re not having to pull too much from the field. And there’s the fact they have so many volunteers that help and can come out and sit with our patients.
“It helps.”
Good Shepherd Hospice opened its first office in Oklahoma City in 1995. The company has a regional presence serving Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Texas.
Nurses like Werner have touched the lives of more than 20,000 patients and 50,000 family members through their time of need.
And Werner is appreciated. She feels it, too.
Good Shepherd Executive Director Sharon Nash, R.N., says Werner fits the mold of a great hospice nurse.
“She’s great with the patients and the families and she’s always willing to jump in and help,” Nash said. And she provides exceptional care.
“We look for nurses who display empathy and understand that dying is part of living and they want to give dignified care that honors the patient’s and the family’s wishes.”
Good Shepherd’s service extends 50-miles from both the Norman and Oklahoma City offices.
But the reach nurses like Werner have can extend for generations.
“The biggest impact is being able to put them at ease,” she said. “We let them know exactly what’s going to happen and we let them know we’re going to be able to make them comfortable. I really try to make a good connection with the family and patient to be able to individualize their care.”
And let them know that a rough start can still have a beautiful ending.
