THe CATAlysT, March 11 2016 7
PATienTs
Continued from Page Six
photos provided
Left photo: Enjoying family time is Melissa Kubu, right, with husband, Tim, and children, Jamison and Olivia. Above photo: Kubu is pictured with her aunt Vicki Sinclair.
particularly stressful times. “They are incredible. They take care of the families. They love on the families. They help them get acclimated, get resources, find hotels and provide communication between units and waiting rooms. They provide a presence and help any way they possibly can. A little bit of compassion, listening and understanding goes a long way, and that’s what our Guest Services does for families.” Kubu also works closely with Al Hoffman and the Pet Therapy Program. “Who wouldn’t love working with Lucky and Happy and Bristol and Scamp and the many other dogs who volunteer here?” she asked. She plans four pet parades a year, and she and Hoffman go floor to floor, room to room with the pups and their handlers. “The kids love it. The doctors and nurses love it. Parents love it. It brightens everyone’s day and brings smiles to their faces. Everyone just relaxes and enjoys the moment during such a stressful time. It kind of feels like home to many whose pets are not there to comfort them,” Kubu said. She will tell you that no two days at the Children’s Hospital are the same. At
any given moment, you might find her coloring with a sibling; encouraging a parent; giving out toys, books, blankets and toiletries; even sitting with a child as they cuddle with a pet therapy dog. It’s a gift, she said, getting to know these wonderful families. A recent situation sticks out in her mind. “There is a mom who has been here for many months with her baby,” she said. “She comes down and talks to me. She doesn’t have family here, so it’s a great feeling knowing she can come and get away for a few minutes. She’s essentially living here at the hospital, so to have somebody, a friend, to sit and talk to and be with, it means the world to her. That’s what I do. I have the opportunity to connect with people. I’m a listening ear.” While it’s a foregone conclusion for Kubu that children at the Children’s Hospital are receiving the finest care available, she also wants families to feel cared for. It’s her personal quest to ensure the families are taken care of and understand what’s happening and what resources are available to them. That conviction comes from a special place of
understanding. In August 2012, after having started her position the previous April, Kubu gave birth to her second child, Olivia. At 2 1/2 weeks, doctors became concerned when she couldn’t keep food down and was losing weight rapidly. She was admitted to the Children’s Hospital. “It was a very scary episode. Olivia was here for three–and–a–half days. She was so tiny and losing weight. It was very terrifying. I’d been working here for three months, but until this experience, I didn’t have a full sense of everyday life here. Coming into the hospital is a completely different world than being any other place when your child is receiving care. You’re dealing with so many different dynamics and emotions. I remember every single second and every person who helped me get through that stay and helped my daughter get better. Being in those shoes helped me understand what it’s like for others to be here. That drives me every day.” Olivia recovered and thrived, but the Kubus had a second experience at the Children’s Hospital when it looked like Olivia was going to need neurosurgery. Luckily, her doctor was able to treat her case without surgery, but Kubu’s belief in her work deepened. “These experiences help me understand what it’s like to be here. They make me appreciate and understand what nurses do for our families and how amazing they are, not to mention our incredible doctors and residents. It’s hard to describe a day in their lives.”
That understanding, that level of caring permeates everything she does. “It makes my day to be with the patients and families. I love meeting them in halls and waiting rooms, talking to them, finding out how things are going. It’s important that they feel cared for and have a firstrate patient experience. I always say that being in the hospital is the most expensive hotel stay you’ve ever had. And, you didn’t ask for it. Our families deserve the best customer service and the best experience we can provide.” At the end of her day, she will head home to care for the other team of people who mean the most to her — her husband of eight years, Jim; her two children, 7–year–old first–grader Jamison and Olivia, now 3 years old; and her fur baby, Hank, a rescued goldendoodle they call Hankidoodledandy. But before she can do that, Kubu will interview another possible volunteer — one of 70 she will meet with for an hour this month. Three times a year she receives as many as 170 applications from people interested in becoming volunteers. “I go home every day knowing this department has made such a difference in so many different lives. I had a good example in life,” she explained. “I got my drive from my mom. She was a single mom from the time I was 5 years old and raised my brother and me. She got me started doing volunteer work with her and caring about people. To see her drive and dedication to her children — she’s my inspiration for being a better person.”