Debbie Trott is the only staff nurse at the
Nelson-Thibodeau Clinic.
She took a 15% pay cut to take the job working
with AIDS patients and AIDS research.
Debbie is a dedicated exception.
Most nurses, like the one who recently quit,
can make more money elsewhere because of the
nursing shortage.
That resignation couldn't have come at a worse time.
With Magic Johnson coming out and saying that
he's HIV positive,
the demand has been unbelievable for testing.
A lot of our staff and volunteers are pulling
some extra hours.
Trott worries that without more nurses,
the clinic won't be able to expand services to
meet the new testing demand
or keep up with the demands of three medical
AIDS research projects.
The clinic is trying a different approach to
attract more nurses, breaking up the full-time
position into part-time positions and hoping of
attracting nurses who need to moonlight.
The clinic is also hoping to attract more
volunteer nurses like Sue Gibson. Sue doesn't
mind volunteering four hours a week at the
clinic. She just can't afford to work here full-time.
full-time. As a nurse I see how people suffer
with AIDS and HIV infection and I
realize that that can be prevented if people
have the education that they need.
Whether it's a volunteer nurse like Sue or a
staff nurse like Debbie, it will
definitely take more willing and dedicated
nurses to complete the mission
of the clinic. Ramona Logan, Texas News 5.