Angela was the nurse for a cancer patient. His case was very complex and to complicate things further, finances were a challenge for him and his family. The healthcare team collaborated like a well-oiled machine and finally we believed we had a plan in place. The patient would be discharged from the hospital, and immediately travel north for an appointment that day with a specialized cancer treatment center. Hours before discharge, it was learned that his insurance had dropped him. He was to be discharged on multiple medications, and with no insurance, and no money, the plan came to a screeching halt. The social worker was working between two floors that day and could not immediately pull away to address this. The MD was going to cancel the discharge until the wife could get the money together and get the meds he needed. Knowing that the patient's appointment was later that day, Angela took it upon herself to call all local pharmacies to get the best price. After speaking to several pharmacies, she found one that would work with the family and give them a discounted rate for the medicines. Angela called the medicines in to the pharmacy so they would be ready when the patient arrived; she didn't want him to be late for his appointment. As they were leaving, Angela reached into her own pocked and offered the $15 she had to go toward the medicines. They were very grateful.

Two months later, while shopping, Angela was approached by a woman. When Angela realized it was the patient's wife, her eyes welled with tears. She had read his obituary in the paper a few weeks earlier. The woman thanked Angela for her care, and said that her husband had been so grateful to her for everything she did for them. She told Angela that if not for her taking the extra steps to find a pharmacy, call in the meds, and offer some of her own money, she knows that her husband would not have made it to get the treatment he needed that day. She was truly thankful.

Angela Peacemaker is an extraordinary nurse at Bayhealth on 4A and our community is blessed to have her.