UVA Today is highlighting the winners of the 2013 Leonard W. Sandridge Outstanding Contribution Awards, the highest U.Va. honor staff members receive for their dedicated service to the University. Today Linda Shifflett, patient care assistant. To see all of the stories, click here.

During her shifts as a patient care assistant in the University of Virginia Medical Center’s 5 East inpatient unit, Linda Shifflett has a knack for putting all of the people she sees – whether she is working with them or caring for them – at ease.

“When Linda Shifflett is on her unit, everyone – staff, patients and families – feels better, because of the compassionate and attentive way Linda cares for her patients and co-workers,” wrote nominator Lorna Facteau, chief nursing officer at the Medical Center. “Creating a safe and [caring] environment is at the cornerstone of what Linda stands for.”

In her daily work, she excels in communicating with patients suffering from severe mental illnesses, including dementia. She combines her sense of caring with her organizational skills, strong work ethic and respect for patients and their families to help provide high-quality patient care.

Her colleagues recognize the important role Shifflett plays in serving patients.

“When patients needs a helping hand or are [suffering] from fear and anxiety, Linda knows what to do and never gives up,” Facteau wrote. “Her gentle and persistent nature ensures the U.Va. patient is always cared for, as if it was her own family member.”

Her caring nature is supported by a strong attention to detail and a willingness to take on projects to improve her unit for the benefit of the patients she and her colleagues care for.

In fact, her co-workers hope she will be there for them if they ever need medical care.

Facteau’s nomination of Shifflett closes this way: “She teaches all of us, every day, and we pray that in our time of need we will have a caregiver like her.”