Arcangel of Mercy

Could convalescent home nurse Virginia Arcangel have a more fitting name?

She’s a diminutive hugging machine in sensible white shoes. She’s a dispenser of soothing kindness and gentle teasing. She’s an unstoppable caretaker who says she loves the home’s residents, and considers the people at work to be her family.

And the sweet--if sometimes tough--woman in the traditional white nurse’s uniform has been doing it with much the same enthusiasm since the early days of World War II, through the arrival of HMOs and the departure of the starched, white hat.

At 80, Arcangel--who celebrated her birthday at the end of last month--is only a few months older than her average patient at the Californian nursing facility.

“She’s tireless. She’s like the Energizer bunny,” said Suzanne Arragg, the home’s director of nursing, who was years from being born when Arcangel took up the vocation. “She’s a friend to confide in for our patients.”

It’s a long way, and nearly 60 years of history, from her native Philippines, where Arcangel began her nursing career in 1941 under the buzz of encroaching Japanese planes, to here: the suburban nursing home where residents gathered for a belated 80th birthday party Wednesday.

You wouldn’t guess she is 80. You wouldn’t have to. She would be the first to tell you her age. Even as an octogenarian, Arcangel--who took the fitting name of her husband when they were married in the Philippines--doesn’t think about retiring. She wants to stay as long as they’ll have her.

And they need her.

Only minutes after the group sang “Happy Birthday” to her, she was off to deliver a snack to a diabetic patient. Her colleagues dragged her back for a photo opportunity.

She works full time--but full time typically turns into overtime. Some days it’s 6:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m.

“This is where I’m happy,” she said, accepting frivolous questions on her rounds with good-natured terseness. “I feel good because I help my patients when I can. They know that I love them.”

And her patients bear that out. They call her their rock. They say they love her too. They call her their friend and let her tease them.

During a round of visits, Wanda Douglas, 86, joked with Arcangel that she should use a skateboard to roll down the hall. If so, she likely wouldn’t go any faster than she already does.

“I think she’s firm with the young nurses,” a one-year resident confirmed. “She demands the best.”

One nurse admitted she was afraid of Arcangel at first. She’s no pushover, even in that petite, white-haired body and with the broad smile and wink. She can dish it out, but she can also take it.

On Wednesday, she was made up with a coat of lipstick and some rosy cheeks for the party--so she looked a little younger, her 15-year co-worker, Lisa Perez, said. Lisa considers herself one of Arcangel’s biggest fans, and has occasionally brought dinner to her home when she isn’t feeling well.

“I was afraid she would be a mean old lady,” Perez said. “She can be tough when it’s important to be, but I would hire her over anybody.”

She’s the hospital mother to the hospital’s staff. And she’s a woman who understands her patients’ aches and pains--even if she’s the only one of them who tries to walk three miles a day on her treadmill.

This, some residents say, is why they feel a particular bond with her.

Carol Williams, who is about 30 years younger than Arcangel, is one of them. She has had elbow surgery, and has been working hard to strengthen the elbow before she leaves the convalescent hospital for her son’s home.

“I wanted to be able to hug her with both hands,” she said.