One patient had not been able to see her husband in a year, her husband is unable to communicate so it has been increasingly difficult for her to connect with him. She saw him for the first time yesterday and she said this when she left the unit, ‘I didn’t know what I was coming in to, I didn’t know how he would look after not seeing him for a year. You all have taken such good care of him because he looks wonderful, he looks just as I left him a year ago.’

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We were able to connect a Veteran and his spouse that have been married for 70 years, the Veteran told me it had been the greatest week because he was able to see his daughter one day and his wife the next.

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A daughter of a Veteran with advanced dementia came in to see her father last week, I had been warned that she was very nervous because she hadn’t seen him in over seven months, when we walked in, the Veteran looked at her and said a nickname since childhood. He only recognizes who people are intermittently, so this was a special moment.

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Team Members honored with this DAISY TEAM Award:

Aimee Hammer, RN
Amber Beckwith, RN
Angela Kohute, RN
Ann Specht, LPN
Bethann Miller, RN
Bonnie Swartwood, RN
Chris Yenglin, RN
John Crostenberg, RN
Kasie Grimes, RN
Kerry Riccardo, RN
Moneta Donahue, RN
Ragena Weiderspahn, RN
Sammer Ksaibati, RN
Shanda Morgan, RN
Sherri Head, RN
Stewart Farrar, RN
Susan Kelly, RN
Tara Lopez, LPN
Tina Hartley, RN
Wendy Shrove, RN
Jesse Leaf, RN
Desiree Bishop, RN