A Hospital Hero
Date: August 24, 2009

Each year, the Georgia Hospital Association asks its members to nominate someone for one of 10 Hospital Hero awards, and this year, a long-time member of the Floyd family, Nancy BelI, RN, and manager of the Diabetes Clinic at Floyd, was selected for that honor.

For 25 years Nancy truly has met the criteria spelled out by the Hospital Hero selection committee having performed heroic deeds and tirelessly given her time, talent and expertise to improve our organization and the world around her.

Sherry Green, a registered nurse at The Specialty Hospital, experienced Nancy’s special brand of care first-hand and wrote about it in a letter supporting Nancy’s nomination for a GHA Hospital Hero:

In January of 1991, my son Brandon (just 22 months old at the time) was diagnosed and hospitalized with juvenile diabetes. We were devastated, scared to death and had no clue what to do or what to ask, let alone how to care for and keep our son alive.

The day that I had the privilege of meeting Nancy is one etched into my memory forever. I had spent the entire night before sitting next to Brandon’s hospital crib sobbing and begging God to send someone to help guide us through this heart-wrenching time.

After this long and restless night, there came a little rap on Brandon’s hospital room door. This dark haired woman dressed all in white slowly and reverently entered the room. She introduced herself, gave me this huge reassuring smile and then a huge reassuring hug. She held on tightly as I clung to her and soaked that pristine white jacket with tons of tears and, unfortunately, black mascara. Thus began a friendship of more than eighteen years.

Nancy not only guided my family through this time…but has often since been sounding board, advisor, friend and family to me, my husband, my daughter, and most importantly, to Brandon.

Brandon is now a very healthy and happy 20-year-old college student at Auburn University. I truly believe that part of his success can be attributed to the involvement and influence that Nancy has had in his life.

Nancy has influenced many other young lives through her association with Kiki’s Kids Camp for children with diabetes. A driving force at Kiki’s since it’s inception in 1994, Nancy has coordinated the clinical care for the camp and led in virtually every aspect of planning and execution of camp.

She carefully reviews the health information of the campers to ensure their health regimen is closely followed while at Kiki’s. Before camp, Nancy talks with parents and familiarizes herself with each child’s specific needs, including insulin type, dosage and delivery system. She also recruits, organizes and trains nurses to work at camp. The nurses help campers with blood sugar checks, shots and insulin pump adjustments, making sure campers are cared for accurately and efficiently so they can spend most of their days having fun.

Nancy works after hours and on weekends preparing for Kiki’s, beginning each January by securing donations of clinical supplies for campers to keep the cost to the campers’ families to a minimum. She works with vendors who provide free supplies and gifts for campers. Many of the campers families struggle with the day-to-day costs of managing their child’s disease, so the items she secures makes a big difference.

Now in her 47 th year of nursing, Nancy’s care for patients with diabetes has become her ministry and life’s work. She understands and lives out the principle of servant leadership. She is compassionate, helpful and dedicated, and she truly loves her work. She is, without doubt, a hero.

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