By: Ben Phelps

When you’ve been a nurse for 39 years it’s probably a little difficult to narrow down which experience is most meaningful, but not for Alice. For her, the last two years have been the greatest of a long nursing career. Like many nurses, part of what makes Alice’s story so incredible is her willingness to jump headfirst into a problem and do whatever it takes to help, but for her nursing goes deeper than that.

Alice first joined Krucial in January of 2020 to go on a deployment in Texas. This was at the very beginning of the pandemic when everything was still so unknown and new. Before that she had been enjoying a travel assignment in Iowa, but when the deployments started, she was eager to do whatever she could to help.

“I so wanted to be a part of what Krucial was doing,” Alice said.

To better understand the deeper reason for Alice’s passion, we have to look at Alice’s inspiration for becoming a nurse in the first place. While she was motivated to help people like all nurses are, Alice also was inspired by the most important nurse in her life: her grandmother.

During WWI and WWII, Alice’s grandmother went overseas to help as a nurse in the war. When she was home in between wars, she was doing everything she could to help with the efforts to combat the Spanish flu. She was no stranger to helping humanity through tragedy.

“We have pictures of her in her uniform with the field tents in the background,” Alice shared. So, when the time came around, Alice was honored to be able to follow in her grandmother’s footsteps and give back to her country and be there for people during the Covid pandemic. “Being a part of Krucial was a dream come true for me to be able to be in her legacy.”

For Alice’s dream she had many choices, but she chose Krucial because of all that they did to support nurses out in the field. “Being with Krucial was completely wonderful because they truly took care of everything.” No matter what she needed or what time of day it was, Alice always felt supported by her Krew. During the celebrations and the tragedies, Krucial was there to encourage Alice through her journey. “They were there in good times and in bad. When our hearts were broken our onsites were there to help us wake up and face another day.” Alice not only felt blessed to have her Krew with her on deployment, but she also grew to call several coworkers her life-long friends.

The impact Alice made on deployment truly touched the lives of many beyond those Krew members. Several of her patients still keep in touch with her and have given updates on how the care Alice provided continues to impact their lives. Hearing that patients who were expected to pass, have instead made a full recovery is part of what makes the job worth it. On each deployment Alice helped so many patients and adopted this philosophy in approaching her work: First one in; last one out. “…it’s such a big deal to me to be what I call first man in, last man out…I always say I wanna be the last one out to help them close the door on this.” Like her grandmother, Alice wasn’t afraid to stick around through the rough times, because she understood the importance of what she was doing.

Being out on deployment didn’t just help Alice continue her grandmother’s legacy, it also helped her family feel pride and peace. “It gave my family hope and made them proud that there was someone in the family out there trying to help others.” In a time where the world didn’t know what was coming next, Alice was able to help provide comfort to her family through first-hand experience.

Whether it was family, coworkers, or the patients she worked with on a daily basis, Alice’s spirit left such a wonderful impact on those around her. Many patients and coworkers recommended that Alice’s story be shared because they all loved working with her and truly felt the touch of her heart in their lives. Alice as humble and sweet as ever, feels the same way about those she has helped, “I am so honored. There are so many people that I’ve met that I could say are so amazing…Being with Krucial these past few years have been the most meaningful of my entire career.”  

Know an amazing nurse like Alice? Nominate them and reach out to us at social_media@krucialrr.org