At Harris Health, as nurses, our mission is to optimizes health and provide healing services to our patients. Recently we received a female patient known to us with extended stays. The patient had a very poor prognosis but the family had not come to terms with the patient's poor outcome. The patient never wanted to voice her needs with her family, but instead wanted them to make the decisions for her. As a result, the patient had become distraught each time she was admitted. She voiced she was afraid of being alone and dying alone. We provided her with reassurance and emotional support. We also coordinated her care with others such as chaplain, nutritionist, social worker, clinical case manager, and palliative care. As nurses, our values entitle to providing dignity, compassion, and respect. During goals of care discussion, the patient voiced her wishes and the family finally agreed to accept palliative care services and provide her with a dignified end of life with home hospice. Her granddaughter's birthday was near and she wished to be at home and share this birthday with her granddaughter perhaps for the last time. Hospice came on a Friday and discussed discharge planning with the patient. The patient for the first time in a few days was excited that she would be going home and get to participate in her granddaughter's birthday event. Hospice arrangements would be made for the following day for her to go home.
As soon as the reality of going home set in, the patient began to tear up and cry, she expressed she did not have a gift for her granddaughter and asked Kemi, the charge nurse at the time if she had five dollars she could borrow to get her granddaughter a card and flowers. Kemi and Tammy, the nurse manager came out of the room overwhelmed with emotion. Quickly it was decided they would purchase a gift in the gift shop for her to give her granddaughter. Kemi rushed down because they were closing and found a musical teddy bear. The teddy bear was presented to the patient and the patient cried and sang with the bear. It was a humbling moment for both Kemi and Tammy. Both realized a card had not been purchased and called Diana, who was coming in the following day as a charge nurse. Diana went to the store that night and purchased candies and a birthday card. Primary nurse Cynthia was also returning the next day and provided patient-centered care as she had to comfort her when the patient voiced she feared she would die at the hospital and wouldn't get to the party on time. The following day, Diana and Cynthia continued to reassure her and make her comfortable. They anticipated her needs in advance and upon each encounter bring her comfort. When Cynthia began the discharge process the patient apologized because she voiced that she had felt like a burden. Cynthia reassured her that that wasn't the case and instead asked the patient to talk about her past and reminisce on her happy memories. Diana and Cynthia got the gifts ready and the patient was happy she would not arrive home empty-handed. It gave the patient a sense of contributing to her family and a sense of independence, something she had lost for a long time. When EMS arrived to transport her, the patient was grateful and Cynthia gave her a blessing and wished her a peaceful death with her loved ones at home just like the patient had desired. The patient expressed her gratitude once again for the compassionate care she had received on our unit.

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Team Members honored with this DAISY TEAM Award:

Habeebat Are, RN
Cynthia Vasquez, RN
Diana Hinojosa, RN
Tammy Straps, RN