Anne Naulty

Anne Naulty, BSN, RN I, was nominated for the DAISY Award by her coworkers on East 1 for the extraordinary care of a dying patient.

The patient had been interviewing with the hospice nurse in his home when he suffered a stroke and was sent to Saint Luke’s Hospital.  The patient had not been in contact with his family for 10 years and was prepared to die alone.  He couldn’t communicate well, and the doctors were not sure he was able to make an informed decision to be placed on hospice.  There was no one to speak for him.  Anne Naulty became his nurse one night and because she cared, she spent time with him so he would not die alone.

He was able to speak to her using one word sentences.  She learned that he had family in Albuquerque, NM and that he would love to see them before he died.  Anne went to work searching for his family.  She even went home and searched the internet from her home computer.

Finally, Anne located his daughter and she and her husband road a train all night to come be with her dad.  When they arrived, Anne took the daughter in to her dad.  The daughter said, “Daddy, it’s me.”  Anne recalls the patient’s eyes “got real big and he smiled. It was beautiful, and we all cried.”  The daughter sat with her dad holding his hand for a long time.

The next day, the patient was able to be transferred to hospice with his daughter by his side.  Anne’s coworker stated, “We got word that the patient died 2 days later, but we all knew he did not die alone because of his daughter and a nurse who cared.”