As a wedding destination, most people might put Las Vegas on the list, or closer to home, The Shak, Camp Newaygo or the red barn in Fremont. Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial, not so much.
But if you're a patient and you won't be discharged in time for your wedding, you want a nurse like Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial's Amy Smith, RN, helping you come up with a Plan B.
Smith helped care for a patient in Gerber Memorial's emergency department. To help ensure some procedures were done correctly, Smith stayed an extra three hours past her shift to make sure the patient was properly cared for. Before her unplanned trip to the emergency department, the bride-to-be had just come from her wedding rehearsal. The wedding was the next day, and her condition required her to stay at Gerber Memorial - and miss her own wedding. Smith had to break the news to her.
What Smith did next shows why she received the DAISY Award recognizing exceptional nursing care:
"Amy stayed to calm her down and then went on to help us plan a quiet but amazing courtyard wedding on Saturday afternoon. Amy was a blessing to all of us!" read the entry nominating Smith for The DAISY Award. The small wedding was held amid the flowers, shrubs and rock arrangements of Gerber Memorial's Healing Garden.