LENORE LARSON-BROWN, RN
Hemodiaysis Nurse, Lakeshore General Hospital

What her nominator said:

“I would like to nominate Lenore Larson-Brown to be celebrated over nurses week. She has worked in Ashern dialysis for many years now supporting the patients there in so many ways beyond being their dialysis nurse. I had the pleasure of having Lenore as a colleague and mentor in the unit. She has unassumingly taken the role of leader in a workplace with inconsistent staff and management as well as juggling the complex needs of being a remote and under serviced area. She was an excellent preceptor to me when I first started in the unit and was the preceptor for the majority of the staff who work in the unit. She is an invaluable resource for staff and patients alike. She has an outstanding understanding of the challenges – both physical and social that dialysis patients and their families face. She is always available for clients and their families to support them through all the bumps in the road. She has never stopped advocating for the needs improvement of the unit as a whole even in the challenging healthcare climate. Her standards of care are exceptional and she encourages the other staff of the unit to provide ‘total’ care to the clients – the needs outside of the basic on-treatment care. I have never met a more hardworking and caring nurse and I would love to see her acknowledged!”

About Lenore:

Lenore Larson-Brown worked in acute care before transitioning to dialysis where she’s been since 2005.

“My eyes have been opened. It’s challenging in many aspects nursing wise. I actually really enjoy it.”

She started nursing in 1988, training right out of high school. “I just wanted to be in a caring profession.”

She trained in Winnipeg and worked in Ottawa for nearly ten years. She landed in Ashern which is the area her husband is originally from. She says working with dialysis patients is the highlight of her job.

“I enjoy educating and supporting them, and giving them guidance and providing quality of life for them.” 

She admits working in a smaller centre means she may end up personally knowing many of the patients.

“That just goes for rural nursing in general. It’s different because you are so close to the community and it can be very challenging.” She appreciates being nominated but also credits the team she works with. “There’s many other excellent nurses out there.”