Imagine you are an 8-year-old little girl, and this is your week with your Daddy. He tells you that your mommy is in the hospital and will be for a while, and we don't know for how long. My daughter K experienced this when I had to explain that her mom was in the hospital. Little did she know truly how sick her mom was at the time.
Her Mom, S, was a patient in the Gettysburg Hospital CCU, before being transferred to another facility. When I called in one evening to get an update on how her day went, I was blessed to talk to one of the many nurses caring for K's mom. Allison gave me an update on S. While I was talking to Allison, K kept peeking around the corner to hear what we were talking about. I know they are usually busy in critical care units, but I thought I would ask Allison if she had the time to talk to our daughter K.
Allison immediately agreed to talk with K. Watching K ask Allison questions about her mommy, brought tears to my eyes. To see a little girl, have a big smile knowing that her mommy was getting rest and being taken care of was such an incredible thing to see. There was a lot of uncertainty with S and her progress. Allison did a great job of talking through things at a level K would understand. K went to bed that night and during the normal routine, she stated that mommy had a really good nurse caring for her. She said she really liked her because, "she answered my questions, and I am not as scared anymore."
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Allison went above and beyond her normal patient care to talk to her patient's daughter. Allison was very professional in her conversation with K while talking in an understanding way for K. Part of the Wellspan Mission is pride, passion, and professionalism. I believe Allison is a nurse who takes pride in the care she provides to her patients; she has a passion to care and advocate for her patients and patients' families.