True Grit: The Spirit of an Extraordinary Healer

From left: HEATHER PATENAUDE, B.S.N., RN, and PAMELA O’NEIL, M.S.N., NP-C, AOCNP PHOTOS BY MIKE ROEMER

Heather Patenaude, B.S.N., RN, is a registered nurse and oncology certified nurse who received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Bellin College in Green Bay, Wisconsin. She has been a nurse for 22 years, working in a nationally certified cancer center as a patient navigator, then in radiation oncology and currently in the oncology infusion unit.

Heather displays the highest level of technical skills necessary to provide compassionate care to her patients, but her commitment doesn’t stop with one-on-one interactions with her patients. Heather is a leader who consistently improves the environment and circumstances in which patients heal.

We nominate Heather for her courage and grit in not only providing expert, empathetic care to her patients but also for taking the hard road in advocating for her patients to improve outcomes. Extraordinary healers are leaders, hands-on caregivers who provide service with empathy and compassion. They do not back down when they are faced with challenges but seek out others to help and support them while always thinking about the patient.

HEATHER PATENAUDE, B.S.N., RN

Heather’s colleagues describe her as a great listener, easy to talk to and an excellent leader. She empowers them to tackle obstacles that might prevent them from doing their best. She is always willing to lend a hand and continues to act as a caregiver, giving them the chance to develop leadership skills.

She is always smiling, and patients love that about her. She provides a sunny disposition in an environment that is not always cheerful. She is humble, and her presence is calming. Her spirit is warm and glowing.

When Heather was asked why she became a nurse, she replied, “I enjoy the responsibility of helping people.” It is evident that she enjoys helping them in all aspects of nursing.

Heather started as a patient navigator, then worked in radiation oncology and is now in the infusion unit. These experiences, as well as her inpatient oncology experience, have given Heather a holistic view of what patients with cancer go through and how their journey is impacted by the professionals who attend to their needs. 

Heather regularly uses resources inside and outside her organization to positively impact the circumstances surrounding a patient’s journey. She frequently partners with Ribbon of Hope, a local foundation that supports women with breast cancer. Each year she volunteers for the Christmas Jubilee and delivers decorated wreaths and Christmas trees to local patients as they navigate healing through the holidays. Heather is an active volunteer with the Salvation Army, and she recently partnered with them to support a patient who was the sole financial provider for his family. While fighting cancer, he also took time off from work to support his high-needs son. Heather worked with the Salvation Army and her coworkers to personally deliver items to ensure her patient and his family had what they needed to get through the holidays. 

Heather’s care often involves connecting with patients’ family members, from jumping through hoops to urgently connect with a patient’s wife on a college campus, to praying and reading poems together with a patient and spouse who had just lost their nephew to cancer. Heather knows that in addition to the best treatment plan, an environment of support is required to deliver the best patient outcomes.

The extra steps Heather takes have always had an impact on her patients. A patient came in with his wife and was thrilled to be greeted by Heather. She had taken care of them 10 years earlier as a certified nursing assistant; they felt incredibly comforted that she would be caring for them again.

Heather doesn’t stop at one-to-one patient care; she consistently advocates for improved environments to increase the chances of positive outcomes. As I’ve watched Heather, I have seen the courage and grit it takes to heal patients. Heather fearlessly fights for circumstances that are more likely to produce positive outcomes, even when that requires sharing inconvenient truths. She has the courage to express opposing views to powerful voices to fight for what is right for the patient. This is never done to benefit her department or give her organization a bigger voice, but always to benefit the patient. She has the grit to ask for reconsideration when a decision needs reevaluation or an action does not meet the organization’s values or standards. In one instance, she made daring and creative decisions in reorganizing her department to address hurdles to excellent patient care. In another case, Heather noticed patients who had recently been discharged from the hospital with feeding tubes were not shown how to use and care for these devices, as well as not given the education needed to maintain proper nutrition. Heather was instrumental in creating the feeding tube team, which provides education to patients and their families prior to the insertion of the device. This has evolved into a care team for patients with head and neck cancers, which has decreased hospital admission rates and provides scheduled intravenous infusion on days subsequent to their chemotherapy.

Finally, in order to continuously improve oncology nursing in her region, Heather served as president of the Northeastern Wisconsin chapter of the Oncology Nursing Society, an organization that advances oncology nursing through communication, research and education. If the only road to a positive outcome is a hard road, she takes it. Courageous and full of grit, Heather is never distracted from the lesser-celebrated aspects of caregiving, and she never backs down from a hard road in order to improve her patients’ outcomes.

I am very excited to nominate Heather for the Extraordinary Healer Award for Oncology Nursing for all of her dedication, compassion and empathetic care she has provided over the past 22 years as a registered nurse. It has not gone unnoticed.

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