Team rallies for co-worker who lost home

One moment Jane (not her real name) had a home. The next, she had no choice but to move — with little more than the clothes on her back.

With Jane’s permission, Becky Moore, the leader of the Mother-Baby unit at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center-RiverBend in Springfield, Oregon, posted a note to the unit team that morning.

By the day’s end, her colleagues generously responded with “linens, mattresses, a recliner, living chair, pots and pans, a microwave, a couch, rice cooker and some basic food/cleaning items,” according to Moore.

Over the next few days, Jane received a futon, kitchen table, blankets, more kitchen supplies, dishes, and bunk beds. Cash was brought in for a gift card to fill in other needs. “And husbands of nurses on the unit offered help transporting the furniture,” said Moore.

With just one family member who wasn’t able help, Jane had been “on the verge of giving up and had felt helpless and alone.” When she saw her colleagues’ response, she realized the family, support and love that she has at PeaceHealth, saying she is “blessed beyond measure by the outpouring.”

According to Moore, many members of the unit had their own personal difficulties in the last year. At least 10 lost immediate family members while several others experienced serious illness — either their own or that of a loved one.

“Despite having so generously supported others in the past with food, donations and paid time off, the team stepped up again” to help Jane, not only with material needs, “but — more importantly — a sense that she belongs and is not alone.”