32 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 2, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Two Queens nurses share their stories of caring for patients
said.
“I think compassion
me to start caring
for other
people who
can’t take care
of themselves,”
said Barriteau.
“Th at thought
never left me.”
Th ough she’s
a nurse manager,
Mechelle Webb Jeanese Barriteau
Barriteau recalls of her days as a young
nurse on the fl oor connecting with elderly
patients.
Over the years, Barriteau has worked
in various areas of nursing: Hyper-baric
nursing, bariatric nursing and medical
surgical nursing — all which have been
very rewarding, she said.
According to Barriteau, if she had to
use one word to describe nurses it would
be “angels.”
“Taking care of patients it’s not just
nursing one leg, or one arm or nursing a
part of them. I think you’re supposed to
nurse the whole patient with their psychological
health and physical health,” said
Barriteau. “I love nursing and I felt that
there wasn’t any other career that I felt I
wanted to do besides nursing. I think I
have made a diff erence over the years with
the way I interacted with my patients and
the care I gave them. I appreciate being
a nurse.”
Celebrate
drove
National Nurses Week
May 6-12, 2019
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
In celebration of National Nurses Week,
Th e Courier profi led two local nurses who
have made a diff erence for their patients.
You can read their full stories on QNS.com.
Mechelle Webb,
Jamaica Hospital
As a nurse, caring for the sick and elderly
is Mechelle Webb’s love and passion.
“I love to care for people. When I’m taking
care of my patients I feel so good if I
can make a diff erence in their lives, it’s
really satisfying to me,” said Webb, who
was inspired by her cousin to become a
nurse. “It brings me great joy. I love nursing.”
For 23 years, Webb has been taking care
of patients between the ages of 18-94 at
Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where
she is currently working as a registered
nurse in the Medical Cardiac Intensive
Care Unit.
At the age of 18, Webb decided to pursue
a career in nursing at the Charles Rosa
School of Nursing in her native country
of Guyana. Shortly thereaft er, she immigrated
to the United States in 1992 and
continued to persevere on her dream of
becoming a registered nurse.
“Th at was my dream, my goal. I would
bypass Jamaica hospital before I even
knew I would work there,” said Webb,
who began
working at the
hospital in 1996
as a supportive
care associate.
“I would
say to my husband
‘I would
love to work
at this hospital.’
Everytime
I would pass
there and say
that and it came to fruition…that’s exactly
where I’m working.’”
Webb has worked on the Med-Surge
Telemetry Unit for 13 years in various
roles such as a Patient Care Associate
(PCA), Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
and a Registered Nurse (RN). She has
worked on the Critical Care Team fl oating
to diff erent Critical Care units: Th e
ER, Recovery Room, Step Down Unit,
and Respiratory Care Units.
Additionally, Webb was also the chairperson
for the United Practice Council,
where she created initiatives to improve
the quality of care and piloted an inservice
for Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) for
nurses on the Med-Surg Telemetry Units.
In 2012, she was nominated “Nurse
of Distinction” Preceptor of the Year in
collaboration with the 1199SEIU/League
(the largest healthcare union in the U.S.),
and in 2013 she received a GEM Award
(Going Th e Extra Mile) at the hospital.
“It’s like a web. Th e patient is in the center
and everyone else is focused on the
patient,” said Webb. “As a nurse, you have
to be the carer, listener, counselor, you
have to be the adviser and supporter.”
Jeanese Barriteau,
Flushing Hospital
Jeanese Barriteau, a nurse manager of
the Telemetry Unit at Flushing hospital,
shares the same sentiments as Webb.
A Long Island resident, Barriteau has
been commuting to Flushing hospital for
four years managing a staff of 48 members
that include nurses, nursing attendants,
ward clerks, and Telemetry monitor
technicians, during both day and night
shift s. Nurses in the Telemetry Unit take
care of patients with bariatric, stroke, and
heart problems.
At the age of 8, Barriteau knew she
wanted to pursue a career as a nurse when
she began helping to care for her grandmother.
“I grew up in Grenada and in those days
we didn’t have a doctor that’s readily available,
so we had the nurses that would come
into the house, like a community nurse,”
said Barriteau. “I saw this stoic lady…she
walked into the house with this bag and
she was wearing a white dress with a navy
blue apron and a white nurses hat. I looked
at her and said who’s that…and what does
she do? I want to be just like her.”
Caring for her grandmother lead
Barriteau to become compassionate, she
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