Robert Hayes

The sincerity of the smile you get from Robert Hayes, R.N., is only the first of many signs of an exceptional caregiver.  A relative newcomer to ST. FRANCIS (Hayes has been here for three years), Hayes’s work within community ministries made him the 2009 recipient of the Edward H. Stall Compassionate Care Award: “I was just overwhelmed.  It came at a great, renewing time for me.”  And while he was moved by this recognition, his most meaningful rewards come from the people he touches every day.  “It’s so nice to look at people in a holistic way –You can be talking to someone about their blood pressure and it turns into talking about their life.”  And each life touched is another step toward the future, as Hayes explains, “we help people find the possibilities that they may never have had before.”  From Meals on Wheels to the Meyer Center for Special Children to the Sterling Center and beyond, Hayes lives the spirit of St. Francis.  “It’s like working with your family, and the mission is so important to every person there. It’s the basis of what I do – it gives me my drive.”