A pretransplant patient was asked to return to the clinic from her home in Vancouver, Washington late in the day. She spoke little English, and she was caring for her 2-year-old son, who she brought with her. When she was ready to return home, it was dark, and she and her son had not eaten.
Cindy called the social worker on call to find housing overnight for the patient. The SCCA House and Pete Gross House were full. The SCCA housing director located a room at a hotel.
Cindy was planning on leaving by 7:30, but she waited and called the hotel to make sure the patient arrived safely. The patient was at the hotel, but the desk supervisor didn't want to let the patient have the room because the patient did not have the SCCA credit card used to guarantee payment.
Cindy finally convinced the supervisor to let the patient stay, even offering to use her own credit card to cover the cost until the mix-up was resolved. I was told the patient didn't get to her room until after 8:30 after Cindy had vouched for her and made sure the patient and her son were okay.
Transplant nurses frequently go out of their way to help our patients, as exemplified by Cindy's concerns for - and kindness toward - this patient.