SKOWHEGAN — A registered nurse at Redington-Fairview General Hospital has been named 2016 Caregiver of the Year by the Maine Hospital Association.

Kelly Hughes Wheeler, 45, of Hartland, nurse manager of the hospital’s Birthing Center, was awarded the honor Wednesday night during the association’s annual summer forum at the Samoset Resort in Rockport.

Kelly Hughes Wheeler, a registered nurse in the Birthing Center at Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan, has been named 2016 Caregiver of the Year by the Maine Hospital Association. Contributed photo

The award honors a caregiver from an association member institution who demonstrates commitment to the delivery of care to patients and their families, according to an association news release.

“It’s a tremendous joy. It’s very magical,” Wheeler said by phone Thursday of winning the award. “It’s very magical to me.”

Wheeler has 24 years of experience as an obstetric nurse and has managed the hospital’s obstetrics department since 2010. Her philosophy is that the birth experience is the most vivid memory a patient will ever have and that this memory will last forever, according to the hospital release.

She asks her students every day to answer the question: “What is your commitment to forever? It is your choice as to how you will be remembered and how the birth stories you are involved with today will be retold.”

Wheeler said her job is a leadership position, in which she oversees the daily operations and delivery of care to women and newborns at the hospital.

Wheeler said she has dedicated her career to seeing that the best possible service is delivered, whether it be at the bedside or in policy or advocacy meetings.

“It’s my professional passion,” she said. “I truly have dedicated my entire career for the care of women and newborn infants. It is truly my professional passion to work for this amazing population of people.”

Wheeler also is a primary caregiver at the hospital, helping out in other departments when asked. It was that volunteered assistance that caught the attention of hospital officials after a traffic accident two years ago.

Wheeler was at the end of her shift when a call came in asking for help with a busy emergency room, according to the hospital release. Wheeler volunteered even though it was time for her to go home. She met a couple from Pennsylvania who had been in a serious car crash.

“We had been on our way to visit a relative when the accident happened and there we were in an unknown hospital with no car (totaled), no cellphones, which were accidentally left behind, and knowing absolutely no one in Skowhegan,” the couple wrote in a letter to the hospital later. Wheeler “helped us make all the many calls that needed to be made in such an emergency; sister, insurance company, taxi, motel, the wrecked car towing facility, Enterprise Car Rental, etc., etc. and even found us a little something to eat to calm ourselves in the midst of all the trauma.

“She even knew which motel was near the Wal-Mart where we could buy a Tracfone and the Enterprise Car Rental so we could get to our destination the next day.”

Wheeler wants to help everyone, whether they are her patients or not, said Sherry Rogers, chief nursing officer.

“Kelly’s passion is to provide the best possible experience for our patients and their families,” Rogers said in the release. “With no bias, Kelly always respectfully seeks to understand the patient’s wishes and will do whatever it takes to make those wishes come true.”

The hospital’s chief executive officer, Richard Willett, said he nominated Wheeler because she understands the meaning of patient-centered care and always goes the extra mile for patients.

“Patients always right my ship,” Wheeler said. “Whenever I have a bad day or question whether I’m making a difference, there is always a patient right around the corner that comes along and makes me realizes why I do what I do.”

Doug Harlow — 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com

Twitter:@Doug_Harlow

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