“How you approach birth is intimately connected with how you approach life.” – William Sears
It is highly likely that I met Deb Bolin ten years ago, when my youngest daughter was born. Likely, because Tori is the only one of my children to be born here in Dickinson, and Deb was the long-standing director of the OB unit of St. Joseph’s Hospital and witness to countless last pushes and first breaths in our community.
I had the pleasure of meeting Deb when I came on as a staff nurse at Connect Medical Clinic. Deb brought her 36 years of experience on the OB unit to the sexual health and pregnancy clinic in 2018 and I was her first hire.
As I trained with her on the culture and mission of Connect, I was moved and inspired by Deb’s heart for her patients. It isn’t hard to picture Deb standing beside a couple, managing their impending birth with capability, efficiency and experience. Beyond the professionalism and knowledge, with a depth of compassion and fortitude as she coached the parents through this intense, amazing experience of their child’s birth.
All because her internal compass is set on people. As she spoke to me about her patients now, young people in situations they did not intend to be in and who mostly lack the resources to deal with them, the value she places on each individual was evident. And humbling. And extraordinary.
Deb leaves a legacy in our community not only with parents, newborns and CMC patients (while numerous), but also with the nurses she’s trained. In her years at the hospital, in her time as adjunct faculty at DSU, and here at Connect Medical, she transformed a population of nurses to be more skilled technically and also, finer nurses relationally. Because she models putting people first in the way she interacts with people; students, staff, peers, and patients, to be in her sphere is to know you are important, and you are loved.
This past year, Deb became a first time grandma twice and these little girls are richly blessed with their grandma’s fierce capacity for love, loyalty and compassion.
Kudos is a recognition program Women Empowering Women created as a way to recognize the good works women do. Women we know who’ve lived quietly, joyfully or have creatively influenced our lives. Women who are an inspiration and deserve to be noticed for their efforts and impact. Women Empowering Women is a nonprofit organization dedicated to meeting women at their needs, helping women become the best versions of themselves. To learn more: http://wewnetwork.org .
Submitted by Tara Zettel
July 14, 2021
