Registered Nurse
Teri’s medical bag often is often stocked with a piece of handcrafted jewelry for her patients. As a home health care and hospice nurse, she takes care of mountain residents who are ill, injured or need help to be comfortable in their body and spirit as they leave this life.
She’s been part of the care team at Mount Evans for almost three years.
“I have always been drawn to hospice care. I spent 30 years caring for the elderly in long term care facilities. For many of them, their fondest wish was to be home … because home is the best place to be! I wanted to work for a place that helped to make being home possible,” says Teri.
Working as a home health care and hospice nurse in the mountains of Gilpin County and throughout the I-70 corridor gives Teri the opportunity to connect with her neighbors and community.
“People come up to me in stores and hug me because I cared for them or a family member during a difficult time. It is tremendously rewarding to be remembered by these wonderful people,” explains Teri. “I feel that mountain people are special because they are strong and very independent. They have a pioneering spirit and, once they accept you into their homes and lives, you become family and they watch out for you as much as you are watching out for them.”
It takes a special person to work in hospice and home health, but for Teri, the reward is immeasurable. She knows she makes a difference in people’s lives. She hears it directly from her patients and their families and she sees it when they want to maintain contact long after they no longer need her care.
“It makes me very proud to be part of my community and to contribute to the well-being of my extended family of neighbors.”
