We believe nurses are the heartbeat of our mission—delivering expert care with compassion, presence and purpose. For National Nurses Month, we’re honored to celebrate the caregivers who embody that mission every day, not just through clinical excellence, but through the relationships they build and the lives they touch.
For many nurses, their journey isn’t shaped by textbooks or training alone. It’s shaped by a moment—a single patient, a quiet exchange or an unexpected insight—that stays with them long after the visit ends. These stories define who they are as caregivers and why they continue to serve.
For three nurses—Rita, Libby and Tammy—that moment didn’t come in a hospital corridor or a noisy nurse’s station. It came at home. Where healing looks different. Where care becomes personal. Where nursing becomes something more than a job.
Rita Pierre, a Compassus home health registered nurse in Marshfield, WI, still remembers the man who changed everything for her. He was a veteran living with Parkinson’s disease. The physical toll of the illness was clear, but what struck Rita most was how completely the disease had woven its way into every corner of his life—his independence, his routines, his relationships.
“Visiting him in his home, I quickly realized how different caregiving becomes when you enter someone’s personal space,” she said. In that sacred setting, caregiving slowed down and deepened. There was time to listen, to notice the family photos on the wall, the rhythm of daily life, the loss and resilience tucked quietly into everyday moments. “His resilience taught me that our role extends beyond managing symptoms—we are also there to preserve autonomy, connection and honor the person behind the diagnosis.”
Libby Johnson, also a Compassus, home health registered nurse in Marshfield, didn’t have just one defining patient—but a defining feeling. She began her career in a step-down ICU, where care was critical and constant. But something was missing.
“I never had enough time to spend with my patients,” she said. “I was doing tasks—passing meds, wound care, treatments—but I wasn’t ever able to really connect.” It was that longing for connection that led her to home health. She didn’t want to just do care—she wanted to be present in it. “The more you’re able to connect and relate, the easier it is to care. Patients open up when they feel known.”
And sometimes, it’s not a patient who leads a nurse to their purpose—it’s another nurse. That was the case for Tammy Palmer, a Compassus hospice RN case manager in Lakeside, AZ. She was introduced to Compassus by a fellow hospice nurse who described a team grounded in support and strength. Tammy stepped into hospice nursing with curiosity—and stayed with purpose.
“Each day I’ve learned how important and rewarding it is to provide care and education for end of life,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot from my patients. They now inspire me to be the best nurse I can be.”
That’s the beautiful contradiction at the heart of nursing. Nurses are called to comfort, to guide, to heal—but so often, they are the ones who walk away changed. Their patients are their teachers. Their inspiration. Their reminder that presence, not perfection, is what matters most.
At Compassus, we are honored to celebrate nurses like Rita, Libby and Tammy during National Nurses Month—and every month. Their stories aren’t just about how they became nurses. They’re about why they stay. They remind us that real healing doesn’t always mean curing. Sometimes, it means showing up, again and again, with compassion, consistency and open hands.
Because sometimes, the first patient who changes everything is the one who simply lets you in.
