LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — At Southern Hills Hospital, the culture is kindness.
“My motto is if we’re not being nice to each other, we can’t possibly be nice to the patients," said Kathy Millhiser, director of emergency services at Southern Hills Hospital.
There may be no nurse that embodies that culture more than Josielyn James.
“I wish I had a thousand Josielyns," said Adam Rudd, CEO of Southern Hills Hospital. "I really do because what it is for her, it’s not about her. It’s about her team and it’s about a patient,"
Josielyn’s care for her patients stretches far beyond the emergency room.
In the three years she’s been a nurse at Southern Hills, Josielyn has stood out - not just for her ability to attend to the medical needs of her patients, but her ability to see the humanity in each and every one - especially for patients who are homeless.
“They’re at the bottom. They have nobody," said James, of homeless patients. "They feel nobody cares about them. So we’re here to make sure there’s no medical needs for them and if there’s no medical needs, we’ll make sure they have the basic necessities to be able to feel like a person.”
Making sure her patients have their basic needs covered has often meant Josielyn paying out of her own pocket - for clothes, shoes and uber rides to shelters. To most, this represents going above and beyond. To Josielyn? It’s nothing much.
“Even though I do do those things, they seem very minimal to me. There’s also the nurses that took care of that patient, that medicated that patient. Fed the patient. It’s a team effort. Buying an uber ride home, spending a few dollars to me is okay. My husband sometimes looks at the account like what’s this for and I kind of just shove him away, I’m just like, nothing.”
Josielyn doesn’t just practice kindness. She embodies it. And in doing so, she represents the best of our city - a true Vegas Stronger Champion.
