07/26/2024
It is with a very heavy heart that I must share the news of the passing of our past Head Nurse, Delores Milne. I felt it important to post this as Delores took care of so, so many of our patients over her many decades of work as a pediatric nurse. While some of our younger children have never had the joy of knowing her, as she retired in 2016, many of our older patients and parents will surely remember her very fondly.
I first met Delores when I began work as a pediatrician with Dr Gerbasi in 1998. At the time, she was already the Head Nurse of the practice, and I was a just young kid coming fresh out of school and residency. I think when starting out in practice, every doctor feels insecurities about whether they are ready take the next step. From day one, all Delores did was to pump me up and to make me feel good about myself, my abilities, and who I was as a person. It was that blossoming of self-confidence which truly allowed me to grow as a pediatrician in those early years.
At the same time, those pats on the back did not come without expectations. If you were not holding yourself to the highest level professionally, ethically, and compassionately, well.......I think the best way to explain it is simply as a child never wants to disappoint a parent, I never wanted to disappoint Delores. And I think that goes for all who worked with her.
For all of the patients who had the great benefit of having known Delores, know this as well. She loved you. She cared for you. She listened to you.
While Delores was fantastic with children of all ages, I think she always had a very special connection with teens, was empathetic to the many challenges they face at that point in their lives, and truly enjoyed helping them navigate those choppy waters. If a child came into the office and expressed a concern to her, she made the provider on duty keenly aware of what those concerns were and made sure they were being addressed.
She was a true treasure for all of us.
While I earlier mentioned about the circumstance of when I first met Delores entering private practice, well, that's not fully true. My very first encounter with her was being on the receiving end of an infant vaccine to help keep me healthy and safe :-). Reflecting upon that now in my mid 50s, it is easy to appreciate the countless babies, children, teenagers, and parents Delores cared for over her many years.
Thank you, Delores, for all of it. You'll be missed in ways words can't describe.
~Dr Shawn