The Epitome of caring for Patients With Cancer

From left: Jennifer Keeler Smith, B.S.N., RN, and Robin Laub

Photo credit: Sylvie Lynn Embry

I am sure your judges receive hundreds, if not thousands, of nominations from people who know someone who they feel deserves recognition. But I would like to tell you about an extraordinary woman who genuinely deserves enormous praise and accolades.

Jenifer Keeler Smith, B.S.N., RN, is an oncology nurse at Ascension St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I honestly don’t know how this woman does what she does. Jenifer was my sister’s palliative care nurse on Dec. 13, 2022, the day she died. Jenifer went into my sister’s room regularly not only to monitor her condition, but also to offer comfort to her family and friends. That was pretty amazing.

Later in the day, I left the room for a few minutes and returned to find Jenifer rebraiding my sister’s hair. She was so gentle with her, and her kindness was just amazing. I told her how much Susie would have appreciated that. My sister had beautiful hair that hung down to her knees, and she was proud of it. Susie’s hair was braided when she entered the hospital, but over the course of a week, it had become disheveled and at that point was a big mess.

As her shift ended at 7 p.m., Jenifer said she had paperwork to do and would stop by on her way out. She returned about 20 minutes later and sat with me for over an hour until my sister died. This really meant a great deal to me because I was alone and did not know what to expect. Jenifer didn’t have to do that. But she did.

At some point earlier in the day, I had mentioned that we wanted to donate my sister’s hair. After she died, I was going to look for a pair of scissors to cut it. Jenifer remembered what I had said, got some scissors and offered to help me. Susie already had a rubber band in the hair at the crown of her head so Jenifer took one from her own hair and also placed it in Susie’s hair so we could cut it neatly for donation. Jenifer’s heart and soul are simply unbelievable. So, so thoughtful.

We all know that over time we can become desensitized to what we see and/or encounter on a daily basis. We’ve all had family, friends and relatives in the hospital for one reason or another. We also recognize good patient care from bad. Sadly, we usually experience terrible or uncaring patient care more often than anything exemplary.

There have been many times over the course of the past year when Jenifer has done something similar for other families. Sometimes she will share a story about a patient with whom she really connected and how it hits her hard when they die, although I know she feels humbled and honored to be there when they do. Or about family members who hoped their loved one would hold on for one more day so Jenifer would be the attending nurse when they died. Or about when she bathes a patient whom she believes will soon die. Others write letters thanking her for the way she took care of their loved ones and saying they will always remember her for that care and the difference she made for them. I could go on and on.

One cannot say enough about this incredible woman. Jenifer is kind, gracious and compas­sionate in the care she gives each patient. Regardless of the reasons why patients are at the medical center, she treats them all with the same respect and dignity. No staff member is ever required to go above and beyond what is expected or hoped for, but Jenifer does every single day. It is the epitome of what patient care should be. Her ideals and standards are those that everyone in medicine should strive to achieve.

As we travel through life, we will, on occasion, meet someone who is unlike anyone we have ever known before. Jenifer is one of those rare people. I consider myself blessed beyond measure to also have her as a friend.

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