(Supplied photo)

By Josh Hall

“I couldn’t do this job without my team"

Bethany Collegeside nurse receives Hero of the Year award

Dec 22, 2020 | 9:15 AM

The Alberta Continuing Care Association has named a Red Deer nurse one of its three recipients of the 2020 Hero of the Year award.

Nicola Devoe, an LPN and 16-year staff member at Bethany Collegeside, was given the award this fall.

“In 2018, I had to deal with my son being in hospital for a couple months as he was born really early and had complications. I lived in the NICU; I’d be there for 12 hours every day and then leave him there, and that feeling of leaving your loved one with someone you don’t know very well was awful,” she says of her passion for nursing. “There were days where I had fantastic nurses for my son and that awful feeling I had would be eased, so I want people to go home from Collegeside in peace and with a sense of comfort that their loved one is well cared for because I know that feeling.”

Devoe, a lifelong central Alberta resident, went to Bow Valley College and began working at Collegeside in Red Deer in 2004.

She was nominated for Hero of the Year by her manager after helping to create a video to families by collecting photos of their loved ones during the pandemic.

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The nomination for Devoe outlines how a family with a loved one she had helped care for had approached management to express their thanks.

The family member had been admitted to Collegeside as a crisis placement due to COVID-19, and at a time when visitors were not allowed.

“It was a struggle for both resident and husband, but the husband was very thankful and appreciative of the care the resident received despite the circumstances,” the nomination letter reads. “The resident sadly passed away a few months later. The photo of the resident used in the video was her last photo taken and her husband valued it so very much that when he wrote her obituary, he had asked any donations for this resident to be sent to Bethany Collegeside.”

(Supplied photo)

It goes on to say the husband described his wife’s caregivers as “angels.”

“We’ve had many people in the community show appreciation, not just for us, but also the hospital,” says Devoe. “I hope the appreciation continues. I hope people see what kind of work we do and how important it is, considering the circumstances.”

While visitors were not permitted, Devoe also took any free moment to give residents a chance to Facetime or Skype with family members.

While it’s been a challenging year on many levels, Devoe sees light at the end of the tunnel.

“You’re always nervous the virus is going to find you, but in terms of Bethany, from the moment this all started, they’ve shown us so much appreciation,” she says. “When you drive by or pull in, signs are everywhere saying ‘Thank you so much heroes’ and ‘We love you so much.

“I couldn’t do this job without my team; I go into work every day and it’s almost like going home,” she adds. “I’ll cherish this award.”