Ms. M was a patient at AH Cabarrus until her transfer to a long-term facility, which was over ten months. Ms. M moved around to various units in the hospital, sometimes at her request and other times at the discretion of leadership to refresh the care teams. Ms. M certainly connected with some staff more than others along her journey. But on the week leading up to her eventual transfer, Ms. M made it clear to PCCU leadership that she wanted to highlight Bethany and all she meant to her during her stay in PCCU.

On day one of taking care of Ms. M, Bethany connected with her, and the patient asked to have this nurse in her assignment each shift she worked until the day of discharge. Ms. M would often ask of Bethany's work schedule, and you could see a sense of relief when she learned she was back on shift, or it was her weekend to work and take care of Ms. M. They formed a quick bond of respect, trust, and genuine care for each other. Ms. M would often ask to see pictures of Bethany's little boy and would reminisce about her own children and grandchildren with her. Bethany always made her feel like she had time to just visit and get to know Ms. M as a person behind her long and complex hospital stay.

Ms. M notes that Bethany was always mindful of her dignity and modesty. Ms. M had a bath team come every afternoon to help. Early on, she felt embarrassed and a spectacle and was even afraid she was being viewed as a circus act when new and random people would show up for the bath team. She could sense when people were made to come, and she learned to dread 3:00 each day. Once she was on PCCU and connected with Bethany, she started to look forward to bathing time. She reports some joking around and the fun they started to have for bath team when Bethany was there. She truly made it something special and relaxing. It was under Bethany's care and guidance of the care that Ms. M's skin began to clear up nicely. When she left Cabarrus, her skin was in the best shape ever! Both the patient and nurse are super proud of this accomplishment!

Bethany soon learned the patient's likes and dislikes, her sleeping patterns, her TV watching schedule, online church service patterns, etc. When Ms. M's dietary restrictions were relaxed and we were trying to stimulate her appetite again and get off TPN, Bethany often grabbed her some food from the cafeteria when she took her own meal breaks. She even put notes on the patient's door to alert others of the individualized patterns of the patient - this turned out to produce the best participation by the patient, as care was bundled and organized around her schedule. (Remember she was medically clear for discharge by this point and did not necessarily need the normal hospital routine 'stuff') Bethany is a small and petite nurse, yet she learned how to partner with Ms. M to get her on and off the bedpan often by herself - rather than the 5 or 6 people others would seek out to help with this seemingly overwhelming task. Ms. M wanted Bethany thanked and highlighted for standing out among ALL the nurses she encountered in her nearly 300 days in the hospital. Bethany is deserving of this recognition and honor.