“I chose to be [a] social worker because I have the ability to feel empathy for people I do not even know, which is tough for many people to do.”
Kristen NadeauKristen Nadeau, MSW, a case manager at Cheshire Medical Center, was recently named a New Hampshire Healthcare Hero by Southern New Hampshire Area Health Education Center.
These awards — started in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic — honor healthcare workers across the state who repeatedly go above and beyond their job description. Nadeau is this year’s Monadnock Region recipient, officially receiving the award July 1.
“I felt incredibly honored, but also surprised,” Nadeau said. “There are several people I work with that also very much deserve this award, so I was truly grateful to be recognized.”
Nadeau is an inpatient case manager for Cheshire’s Thompson Medical-Surgical Unit, where she focuses on discharge planning for patients.
Her favorite part of the position is being able to advocate for people who can’t or are unable to do so for themselves. She also enjoys helping patients and families navigate the discharge process to ensure as smooth a transition out of the hospital as possible.
Nadeau was nominated by her coworker Lauren Bianchi, BSW, a resource specialist and social worker at Cheshire. Bianchi said Nadeau “embodies the values” of a healthcare hero and is a walking example of “what compassionate care should look like.”
Nadeau is “absolutely unwavering in her values, something many of us could stand to emulate more closely,” Bianchi said in her nomination form.
For Nadeau, the need for more empathy in the world is what drives her to do this work every day.
“I chose to be [a] social worker,” she explained, “because I have the ability to feel empathy for people I do not even know, which is tough for many people to do.”