Yvonne’s Legacy
Yvonne
Laws, RN, CPAN
October 23,1943 - December
18,2007
I wonder
if anyone of us ever realizes what a great legacy we leave to our community and
our fellow man, simply by performing our profession.
I have a particular
bias towards those who work in the healthcare professions, and I hope it is no
secret that I believe in, respect, and value the very real contributions that
the Perianesthesia and PeriOperative Team members make to the care of their
patients during the course of their work day – and off hours as well.
It was my
privilege to know and work with Yvonne in a variety of capacities as one of
those very special team members who chose to make nursing her life’s work.
For those
of you who may not know, Yvonne came to
It did
not take many of us very long to realize just how caring and dedicated Yvonne
was towards her patients – and towards us – her peers. She had a most infectious laugh – and I smile
now whenever I think of it and the joy she took in caring for her patients and
their families. She was a staunch and
fierce patient advocate for privacy and rest - and was most vigilant to her
patient needs. She loved taking care of
the most complicated neurosurgery patients especially - and was a wonderful
resource to all of us with her gentle patience and clinical expertise.
Yvonne
did this as a matter of course – as it was her work ethic and principles that
supported her clinical skills and practice.
She and I
took positions in the new PACU together in 1983 – when the new unit opened and
two additional nurses were needed to expand the hours of the unit.
Yvonne
took great pride in her work – and it showed.
She took this one step further, in that she made the commitment to
expand her clinical expertise by choosing to become a certified PACU nurse – a
proud CPAN. She was a study buddy and a
staunch supporter to this very green PACU staff member and her encouragement
helped to raise the bar for all of us.
She was extremely well read – and chances are if you had a clinical
query – she had just finished reading an article or a book on the topic – and
could speak eloquently to it – or else steer you in the right direction.
When I
decided to go back to school for my undergraduate degree – and would joke that
I would not let myself read anything “fun” during the course of that two years
– it was Yvonne who gave me a romantic novel
to read in celebration of my graduation.
When the
time came for us to expand our hours further and take ‘on call’
responsibilities – Yvonne was among the first to help work out a schedule.
Dedicated to the specialty she so loved, she was the first Editor of the
Chesapeake Bay Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses’ (CBSPAN) Newsletter – and also
served as the Historian up until her retirement a few short years ago. As the Eastern Shore District President for
the CBSPAN, she represented us at the ASPAN National Conference in
I will
miss her laughter – her warm hugs – and her smile and nod of fierce
approval. She always knew when to say
just the right thing – at any given moment.
We had an
occasion to have some construction done in our PACU some years back – and the contractor
and his son’s company crossed our paths many times in the planning for the PACU
changes. On one such occasion, someone in the group mentioned how proud the
Construction Manager’s wife must be of the son working so diligently alongside
his father. The father relayed that his
wife had passed away – he losing his wife – and the son losing his mother. We
were all silent at this quiet solemn moment of sharing – and it was Yvonne who
warmly and simply said – “well than I am sure she knows.”
It is
said that nurses touch hundreds of lives – how true this statement is for
Yvonne who cared for such a wide variety of patients during her tenure at
When she
retired – after 25 years as a nurse – caring for approximately 5 patients at a
time in any given day – it is amazing to think that she would have touched the
lives of roughly 32,500 patients over the course of her career in nursing.
She
touched many of our lives, her peers, as well – and we shall not forget the
difference that she made to so many.
Her work
and dedication to her profession speaks for itself, and I am grateful to have
been her friend and her colleague. I
can’t help but think our Lord also is every bit as thankful for her wonderful
legacy and life’s work.
Chris Price, MSN, RN, CPAN, CAPA
Director of PeriOp Services