When you are going through a difficult time and need help, it’s always wonderful to have the person helping you be empathetic. For a patient at the Hendrick Cancer & Rehab Center, Yasmen Ibrahim provided that empathy in such a way that she just had to tell others.

“I was a patient with your Physical Therapy Department in 2020. I came with much pain and with the treatment she gave me, I was much better at the end. Yasmen was very special to me. She could read me like a book. Day to day, she tailored my treatment to what my body needed. Most of the time I did not have to tell her, she could tell. Whether it was a back massage, heat, stretches, she took very good care of me,” the patient shared in a letter to Yasmen’s boss, Donna Jarrell.

The patient continued, “I would come in humped over and hurting just to walk, but by the end of my session, I would walk out straight and tall. Every session she taught me something new about my nerves and muscles, not just the exercises I was doing.”

Yasmen’s work earned her the Team Member of the Month Award for VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital for November.

Donna agreed with Yasmen’s patient, “Yasmen consistently displays considerable empathy, kindness, understanding and concern to all patients. I appreciate the genuine care and concern that Yasmen exhibits to people and her deep desire to help every patient she treats.” Yasmen’s patient concluded with, “I never referred to her as Yasmen at home. It was always “my girl” or “my angel”.

Yasmen has been with CMH for three years and graduated with a doctorate degree in Physical Therapy from Marymount University in Arlington, VA. Her parents, Mohamed and Nadia Ibrahim own and manage Pino’s Pizza in Lawrenceville and Emporia along with Yasmen’s brothers Tarek and Karim. Her hobbies include spending time with her family and she loves being Auntie to her beautiful nieces and nephews. In her spare time she enjoys nature walks and exploring new restaurants.

Yasmen’s philosophy on life is “Through the obstacles of life and day to day work changes with associated stressors, remember that you have made an impact on someone’s life and you continue to do that endlessly every time you place your badge on your chest. Strive to become better than yesterday. Keep moving forward and remember to take the bitter with the sweet.”

Besides earning a STAR pin and award as team member of the month, Yasmen gets a special parking tag that allows her to park wherever she chooses at work for the month of December and a $40 gift card.

Others nominated were: Holly Clary and Anne Thomason from the C.A.R.E. Building, Kayla Franck from ICU, Jasmine Parrish from Acute Care and Dr. Indu Shivaram from Pulmonary Care.