Ida Anderson
Wellstar Kennestone Hospital
Anderson’s coworker Jayne Petefish offers up her nomination based on Anderson’s call to action as a nurse. The best example, Petefish says, took place early one morning as Anderson drove to work.
Cutting her car through the darkness just before dawn, Anderson noticed a limp body on the road. As other drivers stopped their cars to survey the situation, Anderson joined in and took charge. An Alzheimer’s patient had wandered from home, and although the situation proved dire and ultimately fatal, Anderson gave it her all. She administered CPR to the patient and gave breaths while leading a group of bystanders as they rotated compressions. When the son of the patient arrived on the scene, Anderson offered comfort and compassion in the midst of a heartbreakingly tragic situation. According to Anderson, that’s simply what nurses do.
“There’s never a time when you would walk away from a problem,” she explained. “You know when something’s wrong, and you know you can make a difference. I really feel like there’s not a nurse out there who would have behaved any differently than I did that morning.”
On being called to be a nurse:
“I’ve been a nurse for 20 years, and there are some things you’re just born to do. You feel comfortable caring for people. There are a lot of jobs I wouldn’t be comfortable doing, but this job feels very natural to me. I always knew I wanted to do this. I could almost do it for free. It’s really a privilege to be involved in people’s lives in such a personal way and make a difference that lasts a long time.”
