Gratitude to an N.P. Who Brings Everyone Together

I have been a Carilion employee for 5 years and I have never seen Collaboration at work the way I did last spring when I saw Tonya Robertson, N.P. as a patient for what I thought was a hernia. Tonya quickly corrected me and got to work coordinating Imaging, General Surgery and labs to confirm what was clear to her: non-Hodkgin’s lymphoma.

She could have let Blue Ridge Cancer Care take it from there, but she kept collaborating! She worked with their schedulers to expedite a consultation and stayed actively involved with them, with me and with other Carilion departments throughout my treatment.

We talk a lot about medical homes and care teams at Carilion, and I believe Tonya exemplifies both. Even seemingly minor hiccups in scheduling or care can be big obstacles for a cancer patient – with Tonya leading my care team during such a challenging period, I faced no such obstacles. After 6 months of treatment, I had a clear PET/CT and I don’t think anyone cheered louder for me than she did!

It's hard to choose just one Carilion value for Tonya - Compassion tops the list for sure, and she is Committed to excellence with the Curiosity to back it up - but Collaboration is the value that makes the next check-in, consultation or treatment go exactly as expected. That's a gift for people facing so much uncertainty, and that's what happens when Tonya is there to bring everyone together on behalf of her patients. 

I appreciate everyone I have met at Carilion and BRCC over the past year - especially the N.P. at the center of it all - thank you, Tonya!