A Nurse’s Story: Anh Jabillo
My name is Anh Jabillo, and as a nurse at Richmond Hospital, I am proud to say that choosing healthcare as my profession has been incredibly gratifying.
That’s especially true because my community of Richmond is such an amazing place where people care for one another. It shows in the way they support their local hospital. This has been critical to the success of our hospital during the challenges we’ve faced throughout the pandemic – and is such a bright light to healthcare workers who have been giving it their all to provide the best care possible.
Today, I hope you’ll continue your support with a gift to Richmond Hospital Foundation. Your generosity is vital in providing our hospital and its staff with the best resources to care for friends and family.
Healthcare has been a natural fit for me because of my passion for taking care of people. It’s something I’ve done all my life, ever since my family fled the war in Vietnam and came to Canada when I was a child. Both of my parents worked full-time, so I naturally became the main care provider for my elderly grandmother.
Then my mom’s health declined when I was a teenager, and I took on the care of our entire household while working. During those years, I dreamed of becoming a nurse. Years later, I had the opportunity to go back to school to become a nurse, graduating from Vancouver Community College. I got my first job at Richmond Hospital, and I’ve been here ever since, proud to be part of the lifesaving work that happens here.
In the Acute Medicine unit where I work, we care for patients who are recovering from heart attacks and strokes. They usually need electronic monitoring, such as cardiac or respiratory supervision and may require chest tubes, oxygen therapy, or other complex care needs.
It can be a very emotional time for the families, and I cherish the opportunity to get to know them, to comfort them, and to give them hope. They motivate me to do my best every day, and so do my team members.
For us, the pandemic started with a slow trickle of COVID-19 patients. Then the numbers grew. Patients came in struggling to breathe and in urgent need of oxygen.
As you can imagine, we had to make a lot of changes when the pandemic hit.
Since families couldn’t come in and visit, we worked hard to ensure patients weren’t feeling alone and isolated by providing tablets for them to connect with their loved ones through video calls.
Through the extra pressures of the pandemic, my colleagues and I dedicated ourselves to exemplary and compassionate care for our patients. And along with your help, we will continue to do so and ensure the best care is always available close to home.
I was deeply touched by the incredible community support we received. Donations of food and drinks from businesses and families in the community came pouring in two to three times a day and were delivered to every unit. Police and fire crews lifted our spirits with their evening salutes of lights flashing and horns honking. It let us know our community was thinking about us.
Recently in April, on World Health Day, we were once again reminded of how appreciated we are when we were greeted by members of Richmond Hospital Foundation and hospital leadership with personal thanks as we arrived and departed for our shifts. There is even a permanent gratitude display for us at the hospital. Walking through a show of support like that is an amazing feeling. It makes us realize how important healthcare is to the people in Richmond.
Taking care of people is second nature to us. We all have a passion to work with people and keep them safe, and that’s why we chose to be in healthcare.
Donors like you help make it possible for us to purchase new equipment, enhance patient care programs, and facilitate research that is essential to providing high calibre care.
I hope you will continue to show your support for our hospital and our community with a gift to Richmond Hospital Foundation. Your dollars fuel the resources we rely on to offer the best care and your encouragement inspires us to reach new heights every day! Thank you!
Sincerely,
Anh Jabillo
Patient Care Coordinator
Richmond Hospital
