Welcome our new Director of Care and Compassion

A journey of love, care, passion brings Heather Payne to Valerie’s House

Heather Payne has heard the innocent screams of a baby addicted to drugs. She has consoled grieving parents who have just lost a child. She has helped families find the courage and strength they didn't think existed after enduring a tragedy. Now, the woman who always knew that helping others would be her life's work brings knowledge, expertise, caring, and compassion to Valerie's House as the new Director of Care and Compassion.

She will focus on one-on-one support for children and families that extend beyond grief group sessions at Valerie's House.

Heather also works with an animal rescue group and this was one of the adoptable dogs.

"I think this was the next logical step for me, the next right thing to do," said Payne, who has worked as a nurse and mental health counselor for 43 years. 

Payne, who grew up in St. John's, the Canadian province of Newfoundland, was adopted as an infant. She lost her father when she was 20 years old. "There was no grief support," she said. "You got three days of bereavement leave and went back to work. It made me realize that everyone needs someone to listen to them and help them through hard times."

Payne, who lived in Newfoundland for 32 years, worked as a registered nurse at a children's hospital. She also worked as a nurse in Michigan before going to Golisano Children's Hospital in Fort Myers, where she was assigned to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. She primarily treated critically ill newborns and infants born addicted to drugs.

"The drug-addicted babies would pull at your heart because they suffered through no fault of their own," Payne said. "You had to develop boundaries, be empathetic.”

As a nurse, Payne was always interested in people, their feelings, and their stories. NICU could be life at its worst. "People think you have the best job in the world, and you get to play with cute babies," she said. "Not always, the experience still gives me chills."

Maintaining personal boundaries was never easy to watch babies suffer, and to console distraught parents who watched helplessly as their newborns fought for their lives. She became proficient at "self-care." Her therapies are being outdoors and near the water, going to the gym, escaping to a good book, and spending time with the joys of her life –  her grandchildren and two dogs.

Her experiences in NICU led Payne to the Pediatric Bereavement program at Lee Health, where she focused on mental health counseling, providing support for families who have lost children. She then became a pediatric and pregnancy coordinator and offered private counseling for Delta Family Counseling, LLC.

Payne became connected to the care and grief support at Valerie's House through her work at Lee Health. She often directed families to Valerie's House, "There is an incredible, warm, positive feeling at Valerie's House," Payne said.

She started volunteering in 2016, then stepped back because of work demands in 2017, and went back as a volunteer in 2018, working with the Moms and Caregivers groups.

"It is an atmosphere where I feel like everyone is wrapped in love and support," Payne said. "You watch families come through the worst times of their lives, and become stronger, and move forward with incredible experiences".

Valerie's House provides Payne with a "team approach" to care that she embraces. "My position at the hospital was very intense, very, in the moment.  It is very different from working with a whole team and everyone dedicated to the same mission. They are there to support each other. It is a place that brings hope."