As angels have been known as messengers and guides from time immemorial, it is not necessarily hyperbole for patients and families to refer to hospice liaison nurse – and Nurse of the Week – Ligaya “Joy” Villanueva Bercasio, BSN-RN as an “angel.”
Of her calling as a nurse, Bercasio says “Caring, I think, is really a feeling of happiness for me. You know, fulfillment. I really do believe it is a calling for me. I’m in the right profession, I think.”
The depth and extent of the 30-year nursing veteran’s compassion moved the son of two patients so much that he has virtually adopted her as an honorary family member. Bercasio, who works at Hawaii’s St Francis Healthcare System, was a true guide to Roland Bueno as she comforted him after his parents died. She first met the Buenos in September 2020, when she visited them to talk about providing hospice care for their father. Their encounter was far more eventful than any of them had anticipated.
Almost at once, they established an unusual rapport. As Bercasio recalls, while talking with Roland, his mom, and his father, it felt “like we’ve known each other for a long time… You know, we really established rapport [in a] very short period of time! Nana sharing her love story in the Philippines with Tata, showing their pictures and everything.” (Angels tend to be welcomed on that sort of beyond-first-name basis).
Ligaya “Joy” Villanueva Bercasio, BSN-RN.
But the visit had a dramatic conclusion. “Nana” had left the room, and as Bercasio was readying to leave, they heard a loud thump in the house. She recalls, “Me and Roland ran back to inside the house and we saw Nana on the kitchen floor unresponsive, not breathing, and no pulse. So I immediately did CPR on her, hoping we could revive her.”
Sadly, although Bercasio was initially able to get a response from Nana (Ms. Bueno), Roland’s mother passed away in the hospital. Shortly afterward, her ailing, grieving spouse followed her.
An encouraging force
A Nurse of the Week who didn’t miraculously save lives? As nurses know well, caring doesn’t end with a patient’s passing. Nursing care extends to relatives as well, and nurses often have a very special gift for connecting with and supporting families in the throes of loss. It was Bercasio’s strong and reassuring presence after that loss that inspired Roland Bueno to nominate her as a “healthcare hero” of Hawaii’s health system.
“My mom and dad had passed very close to each other, just unexpectedly, and she was so integral to that process of accommodating us — not just the health things, but she was just really an encouraging force in our family,” Bueno declared. He told Hawaii News Now, “I’ve heard you can’t change the world, but you can change the world for one person, and I’ve been on the giving end of it, but I have not been on the receiving end. So she really changed the world for our family, too.”
To see a video interview, visit Hawaii News Now.
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