Ashley Fisk

This patient was at an outside hospital but was transferred to CHP when her health was deteriorating. Now they were a few hours from home and the patient was not feeling much better. There were many services involved in her care and they often had conflicting plans of care. This was incredibly confusing and frustrating for the patient and family. Ashley encouraged the physicians to discuss the plan outside of the room so they were on the same page when they communicated with the family. A care conference was also recommended. This patient had severe abdominal pain which only increased with numerous physician exams. Ashley acted as an advocate for the patient and explained to the mother that she did not have to let every person of the care team touch her daughter's abdomen. Ashley also worked with the patient and physician so the patient could receive additional pain medications prior to an exam. This decreased the patient's anxiety and the mother's as well. While I was speaking with the mom, she stated that Ashley and her daughter were talking about books and the next day, Ashley brought in a book for her that she recommended, hoping this would provide distraction from her pain. The mother then got teary-eyed when she stated that Ashley really saw her daughter for who she was and not just a patient, room number and diagnosis. The mother then said that Ashley offered to sit with the patient if the mother needed to step out of the room or take a walk. The mother was shocked that in her busy day, Ashley could see that she (the mother) was struggling as well. A true example of patient and family centered care, by a great nurse.