Houston—Chastity Jaime, RN, MBA, pediatric care coordinator at Texas Children’s Health Plan, has earned recognition among the top 150 outstanding nurses in the region by the Houston Chronicle.
“It’s good to hear this news; as nurses we don’t always get compliments. You do your work, you make sure the patients have what they need but it’s the thanks that you get later on that are meaningful,” said Jaime.
An empathetic caregiver, Jaime was inspired to become a nurse after having surgery when she was just a teenager. She was left alone in a hallway in extreme pain. “I was crying and I just wanted my mom. People were just passing by and they weren’t acknowledging me,” Jaime said. “I decided that I wanted to go into health care at that time because I thought no one should ever have to go through something like that.”
As pediatric nurse at The Center for Children and Women, Jaime’s compassionate nature has won her patients’ families appreciation. “Mothers appreciate all the help and going above and beyond for them to make sure that they have exactly what their child needs,” she said. Just helping patients feel better is not enough for her: “For me, it’s about helping people to be more knowledgeable so that they’re empowered to take care of themselves.”
Working with 25 assigned patients, Jaime’s challenges extend beyond the scope of nursing, ranging from non-compliance to analphabetism. “We do tend to have more non-compliant patients when it comes to appointments,” she said. “Sometimes it’s not purposeful. It may be because they can’t read or write –so sometimes I will schedule the appointment for them.”
Going above and beyond to meet her patients’ needs fuels Jaime’s passion and commitment. “It makes me feel like I’m doing the right thing, that I’m doing the right job,” said Jaime.
For more information about Houston Chron’s Salute to Nurses, visit Chron’s website.
About Texas Children’s Health Plan
Texas Children’s Health Plan was founded in 1996 by Texas Children’s Hospital and is the nation’s first health maintenance organization (HMO) created just for children. It offers a primary-care network, specialists and a large hospital network. It now provides dependable health coverage to qualifying children and pregnant women through STAR Kids and STAR Medicaid programs, as well as Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). It has expanded to more than 425,000 members in the Jefferson, Harris and northeast Medicaid rural service areas. For more information on Texas Children’s Health Plan, visit www.TexasChildrensHealth Plan.org.
