November 2016
Alice
Weiner
,
RN
MDU
SwedishAmerican Hospital
Rockford
,
IL
United States
A patient was admitted to MDU with cellulitis, gangrene and MRSA. Upon arrival, his clothing and shoes were filthy. His shoes had dead skin stuck on them, and they had a foul odor. Staff put them in bags in the closet and later decided to throw the clothing out due to the smell. Every day that she worked, Alice and her orientee took care of the patient while he was at SwedishAmerican and got to know him well. Originally, it was thought that we could get clothes from the social worker. However, the day before the patient was to be discharged, Alice took it upon herself to go to Walmart and buy the patient a new shirt, shoes, socks, pants and underpants to wear home. Additionally, she worked with the PCT to shave the patient and give him a haircut. The patient was so happy. He kept rubbing the clothing stating, "I have never had anything this nice before".