MAY 2021 | 15
CELEBRATE NURSES
Self-care allows Weinman to provide
BEST CARE G CONTRIBUTOR: Maria Kirkpatrick
oing from nearly homeless to nursing instructor, Mo Weinman has accomplished much in her life. Until a few weeks ago, Weinman was working as a fulltime critical care nurse at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis and part-time as a second-year clinical nursing instructor at Linn Benton Community College in Albany. She is cross-trained to work in the intensive care unit. She has scaled back a few hours at the hospital to complete her master’s degree in nursing education. At home, she is raising four children, ages 5 and 18 and twins who are 20, with her husband. Weinman is from Southern California, where she and her ex-husband struggled with homelessness. She said they just couldn’t seem to find a place to settle. Her cousin in Albany invited her to visit. The couple decided to stay, but the marriage dissolved. In 2003, she was a newly single mom raising twins, toddlers at the time, and needed to provide them with health insurance. A television advertisement for the nurses’ aide program at LBCC mentioned it provided insurance, and Weinman looked into it and signed up. Shortly after she started as a certified nurses’ aide, she discovered the hospital has a reimbursement program for continuing education and thought it was something she could do. “I began pre-nursing classes, realized I really loved nursing and found out it was something I wanted to make a career of,” she said. Weinman began her education while others her age were completing theirs. She took one class at a time to get her nursing degree. It took her 10 years to complete, but she is proud of every step of the way.
In 2012, she graduated from LBCC and got married “to the most amazing person.” “There was a lot of life stuff in the middle, and I just kept plugging away until it was done,” she said. The best part of being a nurse, Weinman said, is being able to meet somebody on what is the worst day of their life and provide comfort to them. “I had a very small experience of being a patient in the hospital when I had my twins,” she said. “I remember how scary it was to show pain and feel confused about what was happening and then to get comfort from your nurse or nurses’ aides. “I know what it’s like to be in the hospital and to be in another state, and I was scared. Especially with stuff like the pandemic. We were having to provide comfort for people who weren’t able to get it from their own families, and that felt really special to me.” Weinman said she is proud of her coworkers and how they worked through the pandemic. “Not just the nurses,” she said. “The housekeepers, aides, therapists, administrators … everybody really figured out how to work together as a team and we were thrown into this. There was no warning or training, and things were changing daily.” One of her twins, who has some special needs, recently was hired as an entrance screener at the hospital. “I get to see him every time I come to work and it brings me joy,” Weinman said. “A lot of my coworkers have watched him grow up. It’s been cool to watch him grow up and become part of the family at work.” A big challenge is finding time for selfcare. “I’ve started to put myself first and realize how many other things benefit when I take care of myself,” she said. “When I care for myself first, I can provide really good care to other people.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Kelly Lyons
Thank You! to nurses everywhere.
Helpers. Healers. Heros
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