I have the privilege of witnessing and participating in the impact of a patient experience from ordinary to extraordinary; as this is part of the everyday work that my peers and staff do every day. But what sets this situation apart from others, is as it crossed the Penn State Health Enterprise and has solidified our relationships with each other as a health system whose focus is the patient and family.

A young woman and her stepfather were involved in a single-vehicle motorcycle collision. At the scene, the young woman and her stepfather were separated and arrived at different hospitals for treatments. She arrived to Hershey Medical Center while he was taken to Holy Spirit. Throughout the course of her hospital stay, she was kept appraised of her stepfather's condition. As the days passed it became clear, that while she would make a full recovery, her stepfather would not recover from his injuries. The family made a difficult decision to honor his wishes for organ donation. During rounds a simple request was made; Is there any way that I could see my stepfather and be with my family to say goodbye? The attending physician made the request to Dr. lriana our Chief Medical Officer and the Nurse Manager of 4 Acute Care. The resounding answer was yes and how could we safely accomplish this task? Our VPs of Operations, Jenny Zimmerman and James Fenush, sprang into action and created a plan to transport this young woman to Holy Spirit. Rita Barry, the Director of Clinical Support Services, identified one of the Nurse Resource Coordinators N. "Tash" Smithies to travel with this patient. She went above and beyond by calling Tash at home explaining the situation and asking if could she help. Again, with no hesitation, she immediately agreed and got ready to come in to assist. While that was happening, Jenny and Jim were coordinating transport and Chaplin support for this young woman; ensuring that both her physical and spiritual needs were met. Eliessa Caplan, the House Manager on duty, was briefed and immediately collaborated with her peer at Holy Spirit to ensure that EMS was met and this young woman would be supported during this challenging and emotional time.

As healthcare providers, we have the privilege of being part of these intimate moments. By honoring this request and working as one cohesive team they were able to reunite this family allowing them to support and grieve together.

Comments from our EMS transport team: Thank you for recognizing that sometimes even a routine transport can tug at our heartstrings. This was a tough one, for sure, but nonetheless a very humbling experience! I was honored to be part of the team to transport our patient to Holy Spirit Medical Center so that she could spend a few final moments with her Dad.

I'm not sure if anyone shared my personal story with you, but I am a 5-year survivor of a ruptured brain aneurysm. Five years ago, I was the dying patient that family members were traveling to visit for what they presumed would be the last time. Having fought so hard to survive, to recover, and to now work as a provider with the team who helped to save me is incredible. While our stories were quite different, I couldn't say no to helping this young lady say her final goodbyes to her Dad. Some calls stick with EMS providers for a lifetime, and this is one of them! It was emotional, but worth every minute. Thank you for recognizing what we do, and for trusting us with such an important transport. I would highly recommend this team for their collaboration, empathy, compassion and patient-centric work for The DAISY Team Award!