Celebration of Life Candlelight Vigil and Dinner for VNA Nurses

We are not meant to grieve alone. Please save the date for an upcoming candlelight vigil, on December 21st at Riverfront Park, near the water fountain. We will be honoring Doug Brant VNA RN, his dedication and service. The vigil will begin at 5:30pm. Please come and invite all families, friends, and fellow nurses. Sign in at the blue awning upon arrival.

For the WSNA nurses of VNA only, dinner will follow at the Double Tree Hilton. Parking is included. RSVP is required for the dinner event. Please email Nurse Rep, Jaclyn Smedley BSN, RN directly if you would like to reserve a seat at this special dinner and receive the parking code at jsmedley@wsna.org.

Resources for WSNA VNA RNs

When hard times strike, sometimes we don’t know the resources that are available to us to help assist in grieving. AFT (American Federation of Teachers) is your national union and is affiliated with WSNA. The local AFT Union number is 5901.

AFT offers 21 hours of trauma counseling and other additional benefits to union members at no cost to you.

Please reach out to your Nurse Rep, Jaclyn Smedley BSN, RN should you have any additional questions about these resources - jsmedley@wsna.org.

VNA RNs remembering Doug Brant

After the tragic event which occurred on December 1, the nurses of VNA remember Doug - his charity, goodwill, and especially his dedication to the nursing profession.

“Doug and I shared West Plains territory and often covered for each other… if any patient had a guitar laying around, Doug was such a gifted musician that he would pick the guitar up and start playing. One day I covered for Doug who was seeing a young troubled kid with injuries. The patient was very impressed with Doug because “that old guy played music from my favorite band!!!” Doug could connect with any of his patients not only through his music but his kind, fun loving and compassionate personality” – Donni Heidenson, RN

“I didn't have much one-on-one time with Doug, but I do know how much of an asset he was to those who were blessed to know him. He will leave a definite void too many. A great man with a great spirit whose memory will live forever. Thank you, Doug, for blessing us with your knowledge, kindness and presence all these years.” – Marissa Schremser, RN

“Doug was my best referral source! I got a request from him nearly every week to see one of his patients. He always gave me so much information about the patient ahead of time so I could be prepared for the visit. Early on he loaned me a book about the health benefits of plant-based eating. He was pleasantly surprised to learn I was already promoting this with our diabetes patients. From then on, we often "tagged teamed" our patients to give plant-based eating a try. I appreciated his confidence in me. I will miss him in so many ways.” – Kathleen Thompson, RN, WSNA Chair

“So, one time I had Doug fill in and see my catheter patient. My patient was also a guitarist and musician and had just purchased a very beautiful guitar which he hung on the wall. Doug came in and visited for a bit, but then noticed the guitar and went over to get it off the wall. He started playing it and tuned it also. Of course, he also changed the catheter while there. When I was precepting Doug, we stopped for lunch one day at Trader Joe's. I thought we could grab a couple of sandwiches or something. He was vegetarian and health conscious-he grabbed a whole bag of baby kale and a pack of blueberries and started to chow down in my car! Just ate the greens right out of the bag! I joked it was like having lunch with a cow!! Haha!” – Amanda Crawford, RN, WSNA Vice Chair

“The first happy moment I had with Doug was when he called me to welcome me to PVNA. I was so touched by the connection especially because "talking shop" with coworkers is a huge stress reliever. He was so interested in where I'd worked and suggested a dinner with my husband and I. It brought a huge smile to my heart! He was wonderful to "run things by" and so very knowledgeable. I always felt like everything was going to be fine each shift I worked with Doug. My best memory is being at the glass doors of the high rise across the street from the convention center. It had taken a few times around the block to find parking and after getting halfway to the high rise, I had to turn around because I left my computer in the car...when I finally made it to the glass doors, I could not remember how to get in. I stood staring at the doors trying to remember how I had gotten in last time. I grew really despondent (hunger, last patient, downtown) and I know I slumped my shoulders down and wanted to just melt into the ground. I noticed movement to my right and when I looked over it was the best sight ever! Doug!! He asked what I was doing...then showed me the new call box and how to dial in to get the doors open. It made my day to cross paths with him. He was a true and admirable gentleman and my heart aches for everyone who was fortunate enough to know him and is grieving his loss.” – Mary Vince Cruz, RN

“I only knew Doug for a few months and was fortunate to have him as my preceptor when I started here at PVNA. He was truly a pleasure to work with and I learned so much from him! Other than being an amazing coworker, he was just an awesome human being. So kind, transparent, humble, and could befriend anyone. You could tell that his patients truly enjoyed having him and some even said he was like family to them! As a teammate when not being his professional self, he was a hoot! We had a south team BBQ and he made his usual rounds talking to EVERYONE at the party, so genuinely interested in getting to know others. And trying to convince my husband, who plays drums, to play together some time. I will think of him every time I buy blueberries from Trader Joes (we ran into each other thereafter patient visits) and finds me and says, "This is a great deal!!" One afternoon I was expressing my concerns about OASIS charting and how these quality reviewers scrutinize everything and how does he cope with this?!! He said he had 1 perfect OASIS SOC in 5 years. I don't know if anyone else has done that, but he deserves a medal! We both just laughed and laughed!! I will miss his smile and laugh the most. No words can describe the deep ache that is felt right now from his passing, but there is peace knowing that he is now with the true Comforter forever!” – Brittany Barmes, RN

“I didn’t know Doug super well because he didn’t work in my area much but when we worked the weekends together, he always took on extra patients. He gave me so much, and he seemed happy to do it. Often there would be 2 SOS visits that needed to be picked up and Doug would do both with an already full schedule. And he was so so so kind! He seemed to really love his job. This world lost an incredible soul last week” – Kaarene Parker, RN

“Many times an SOS was sent out in Doug’s area he would offer to take it, no matter what it was. I always felt this showed what true dedication he had to his patients and his job. VNA wasn’t a job for him, it was a calling.” – Kathy Beach RN

“I didn’t work with Doug regularly, but when I did, he was always more than happy to take on extra patients. I never heard him say no or I can’t, not once. He had a warm heart and a beautiful spirit. Like others have already said, he would give you the shirt off his back if you asked. We did a few joint visits together not that long ago. He was to teach me how to do a sterile wound vac dressing change for a transplant patient. Things didn’t go perfectly smoothly initially; we ended up with a case of right-handed sterile gloves, but we made it work. 😊 Doug, myself and the patient had a few good laughs during that visit. He kept his professionalism through it all, though. He will be missed greatly by all of us at PVNA and his patients.” - Lisa Herr RN