Dawn P. – “Educator”

Changing lives through the compassionate care and clinical education she provides others is the most rewarding part of Dawn’s job, and what makes her so passionate about home healthcare. Dawn is the Director of Community Outreach for Interim HealthCare in Oklahoma City, where she has been faithfully using her gifts and talents for the past four years.

Her calling to care for others began at a young age. While in the sixth grade, Dawn’s father sustained multiple, traumatic injuries in a helicopter crash. After an extensive stay at Walter Reed Hospital, the Veteran’s Administration sent nurses into their home to do the dressing changes on his wounds and Dawn saw firsthand what home-based care was all about, long before home care was even known.

Watching these nurses care for her dad, explaining what they were going to do and why, each step of the way, inspired her to become the informed caregiver she is today. Moved by this experience and the example of her grandmother, a 19^th century midwife in Bristol, England, Dawn knew this is what she was made to do. In 1968, she enrolled in the first LPN class offered by a tech school in Northwest Florida, and so began her lifelong career in nursing.

Drawn by their generosity and positive work relationships, Dawn joined Interim HealthCare in 2017 as a private duty and transitional care nurse. Her clinical knowledge and gift of communication led her to become the Director of Community Outreach. Today, Dawn serves on the front lines of home health, helping clients and their families understand the different services Interim provides in order to help them live safely at home. She is the first person a family meets with to discuss Hospice, helping them navigate the decision-making process during the final phase of life. Dawn’s goal is help clients prepare for what’s ahead so they can live out their days with dignity, grace and comfort. This is all part of Interim’s HomeLife Enrichment philosophy and what makes their care so distinctive.

Dawn is also a voice in the community, educating others on top health issues and how they can remain independent and safe at home. Dawn believes an informed public is a supportive public so she uses her clinical knowledge to help others achieve their goals. Every day, she creates a path for families to explore the full continuum of home healthcare, from hospice care to private duty nursing, and she does it with versatility, professionalism and compassion.

To Dawn, personalized care means meeting people right where they are—regardless of what that looks like—and doing your best to meet their needs. To do so, you have to be ready for the unexpected. Such was the case when she was chased by one client’s attack rooster. In her words, “You haven’t lived until you’ve been put on the hood of a car by a rooster! In rural Oklahoma, you just never know what you’re going to walk into.” 

Dawn’s passionate nature, love for people and ability to communicate with others in a way they can understand has made her an amazing home health professional. In every way, she is made for this!