Marcia Dubois, Crisis Care Nurse

Helping to Meet Hospice Patients’ Physical and Emotional Needs

As a Crisis Care Nurse, Marcia Dubois assists hospice patients in their homes by providing medical and emotional support. In addition to keeping patients comfortable by managing their physical symptoms, Marcia also does what she can to help patients fulfill their end-of-life desires, which sometimes are as basic as stepping outside their apartments one more time.  “I understand that they just want to go outside for a while and take one last look at the world,” she says. When one patient who’d lived on Manhattan’s Upper West Side for over six decades wanted to go to the corner of Broadway and West 72nd Street in the early morning, Marcia didn’t hesitate to wheel her there. “She just sat in silence for several minutes, looking up, down and all around… and then when she gave me the signal, I wheeled her back to her apartment.”

“Marcia is the most kind and selfless human begin I’ve ever met,” noted one of her colleagues in nominating her for an ESPRIT award. “As a nurse, she’s the best. We know that we can count on her experience and skills anytime we need help. She’s our guardian angel.” Another colleague wrote, “Marcia is the epitome of a nurse—caring, genuine, trustworthy, kind, empathetic and selfless. She is the quiet force behind a powerhouse of knowledge and wisdom. A go-to person for many new and old employees, she is quiet and dependable. Marcia is the kind of person who gives without expecting anything in return, regardless of who you are: friend, client, and colleague.”