Monday Morning Musings

Katie Parker, B.S.N., RN, CPN, CHPPN, and Justin Baker, M.D. PHOTO BY ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL / PETER BARTA

Katie Parker is an extraordinary person. She has cared for some of the sickest children on the planet. These children are afflicted with cancer, and many of them cannot be cured.

Katie is our Quality of Life for All team nurse coordinator. In this role, she finds and fully coordinates home-based resources for these children and families as they go through tremendously difficult times in their lives. She does this with a smile and an open heart that helps assure these families that we go into the community with them. She also reassures the local hospices and home-care teams regarding the overall plan of care and our ongoing availability. She tremendously boosts the quality of life of not only the child and family but also our team and the local care team. I titled this essay “Monday Morning Musings” because every Monday, we come in to find that she has posted an inspirational quote that helps carry us through the week. There is so much more to write, but suffice it to say that Katie Parker is one of a kind, and she does her utmost to help ensure that these suffering children and their families receive the very best care possible in their time of greatest need. She is a true superstar!