Carley Evenhouse, Registered Nurse

Carley has been a nurse in the Munster ICU for a couple of years now. Carley has always been compassionate, reliable, and flexible. In her time with us, she has grown her clinical skill set and has become one of the most valuable nurses in the unit. Recently she cared for a patient who suffered a devastating loss in a house fire. She initially admitted the patient from the ED and followed him over the next two days. Not only did she care for the patient, she cared for his family. Given the gravity of the situation, the immediate family was devastated. She took care to ensure their privacy was maintained. When the time came for the patient to be extubated, she stayed in the room with him, not leaving him alone. She provided words of comfort and encouragement to get him to the next stages of his recovery. She spent several hours in that room with both the patient and the family. Once he was able to speak and communicate, she still remained at his bedside, holding his hand and comforting him. Carley supported the patient while he navigated the events that had taken place including grief and anger. She provided his family, especially the patient's mom, with updates. Yes, we always update families, but this family needed support of knowing that this patient was stable and doing ok as the patient and significant other were in separate hospitals. There were many tears during that stretch of shifts. Staff tears, patient tears and family tears. It was a challenging and emotional time for everyone involved. Carley took care of the patient with strength, compassion, and grace. During a time of such devastation and loss, she treated this patient and the family with compassionate concern and is a true example of what a nurse and especially a Franciscan nurse is.