Carrie Kent
July 2017
Carrie
Kent
,
RN, CEN
Emergency Department
Spectrum Health: Butterworth, Blodgett and DeVos Children's
Grand Rapids
,
MI
United States

 

 

 

My father was brought to the Emergency Department at Butterworth. This was Dad's third visit to an ED in three weeks, and my sister and I were struggling with making the decision to accept that we were at the end of his journey. We wanted to take him home on oral medications, and the doctor discussing his condition with us wanted to admit him to the observation unit on IV medications. We did not feel that the doctor was "hearing" us and the discussion was becoming confrontational. Carrie quietly interjected that maybe getting someone from social work to come and discuss this with us would help bring the matter to an acceptable resolution. There is a measure of guilt and despair when arriving at this point, and Carrie affirmed our decision by advocating for the involvement of social work. She also stayed with us as much as possible and walked us out to the exit, even though her shift had ended 90 minutes earlier. We were not just another case for Carrie that day. We felt her compassion and empathy and were comforted by her gift of affirmation when Dad died in the care of Hospice at his home.