Home resident chosen as St. Anthony First Responder of the Year

Marsha Hart, KP News

Anne Nesbit

When St. Anthony Hospital’s Emergency Room department heard about the second annual Gig Harbor Area Honoring First Responders Celebration, the department took a vote for the St. Anthony First Responder of the Year.

Everyone in the ER department, about 80 people, was eligible, including doctors, nurses and secretaries, said Karmela Little, the trauma/EMS coordinator for the hospital.

Anne Nesbit, an ER Technician received the honor. Nesbit is a Home resident and also volunteers for FD 16 as an EMT. She works nights at the hospital, and said she loves her job.

“It’s nice for one of the techs to be noticed,” Nesbit said, confessing she doesn’t take praise well. She prefers to look at the whole team.

ER techs support the nurses and doctors. They help with the dirty jobs, the body fluids, and the not-so-glamorous parts of the ER. They are usually one of the first faces that people see when they come through the ER doors.

“People are being so sweet and they’re stoked I got it,” Nesbit said. “I always try my best and hardest at everything.”

Nesbit is relatively new to the profession. She began a career as a teacher, taught in an at-risk middle school environment in California and moved to the Key Peninsula and switched gears. She said her two children are her priority, and she works nights to be there for them during the day.  She has been working as an ER tech for about two years, she said.

Several of her co-workers in the ER said she was a natural choice for the honor.

“She is always the first in a room to help with a patient,” said Christi Beck, a charge nurse in the ER. “She is great with patients always ensuring that they are comfortable.”

Her skill level and caring nature make her an asset to the team, said Little.

“She deserves recognition on her hospital and community commitment and expertise,” Little said.

Nesbit said she just wants to be there for the patients.

“I hope people come away with a good feeling,” she said. “The ER is scary. You’re there because something scary happened, and often I’m a go-between for the patient and the doctor.”

Nesbit will be representing St. Anthony Hospital’s Emergency Room Department at the Gig Harbor Area Honoring First Responders Celebration Oct. 2 from 1 to 4 p.m. in the parking lot at the United Methodist Church, 7400 Pioneer Way.