For her dedication to her job and work with veterans, Terrie Alford was recently named the Nurse of the Year for Bill Nichols State Veterans Home.
Alford received the Heritage Award Nurse of the Year for HMR Veterans Services.
Alford, a Central Alabama Community College graduate who’s worked as a nurse since 2005, said she’s very honored to receive the award for a job she truly enjoys.
“I love my job. I have 25 residents – they’re all veterans,” Alford said. “I work on the third floor. It’s very rewarding. You get to know your families and your residents very well in that period of time.”
Alford cares for veterans age 60 and up, and said one of the things she enjoys most is the bond she develops with her residents.
“With my guys, most of them come here and it’s the last place they go. I feel like my job is to make the best of that time for them, whether it’s one day or ten years,” Alford said. “It’s very rewarding. You get to know your residents, your families and you feel like a part of their families. It’s not just a job – it’s more like a family.”
While seeing a resident pass away is Alford’s least favorite thing to see on the job, she said she focuses on her duty and repaying the service that veterans have given to us all.
“I guess the best part is feeling like I’m there to take care of them. Some of them don’t have families, and some of them don’t have visitors. They look at us as their family,” Alford said. “I like being able to provide that service for them because they served us, so now we’re there to take care of them.”
