I am a Recovery Room Nurse at Loyola University Medical Center. During a night shift, my nephew was admitted from the ER to your unit for probable acute appendicitis, to go for an exploratory lap in the morning.
My nephew has Downs syndrome. Needless to say, he was exhausted and anxious from the 12 hours of testing and waiting in the Emergency Room, finding out that he wasn't going home, and the antecubital IV that set the pump alarm off with every arm bend. Admitting was advised that he would require a private room as his mom would need to stay at his bedside at all times. Perhaps that is how we landed in your beautiful unit. On the way up from the ER, I was feeling bad for your staff as he is really more like a Pediatric patient, but an adult by virtue of age.
Well, we were greeted by a wonderful nurse, Aleks, who didn't seem bothered at all by the situation, and immediately began to charm my nephew into compliance. I was thoroughly impressed by Aleks' compassion and how sweet she was to him and his weary mom and aunt.
And his dayshift nurse, Brooke, was also amazing and excellent. She immediately thought of ways to adapt my nephew's care for his special needs - for example, calling Pharmacy to find out if there were any other administration options for the 4-hour hang time on the Zosyn dose. I couldn't believe it when I realized that Brooke was doing a double-shift to help out. She was sweet and helpful for the entire 16 hours!
And so I want to thank you and compliment you on your very professional and accommodating staff in an unusual and difficult episode for my nephew and my family. It's always difficult for a medical professional to "be on the other side" - although it serves as a very useful reminder of what our patients and their families are going through and how much they are in need of both our expertise and compassion.
Your staff, especially Aleks and Brooke, have been an inspiration to me for my own nursing practice.