During the past 3 weeks that my 87 year old mother has been a patient at Proctor, all of the nurses caring for her have been kind. I have watched Cristiana Lima demonstrate "above and beyond" care each and every time she has been assigned as my mother's nurse. She demonstrates compassionate care.

After spending five days on the 4th floor being treated for pneumonia, my mother was transferred to skilled nursing on the 3rd floor. Cristiana was waiting in Mom's room to welcome her, get her settled and gather all of the important medical and background information they needed. My Dad and I left the hospital later that night, feeling confident that Mom was in good hands. At 10:30pm we were woken by a phone call from my Mother. She was having a panic attack and wanted my Dad to return to the hospital to stay with her throughout the night. Cristiana demonstrated compassionate care as she made my Dad feel welcome, positioned the chair-bed next to my Mother's hospital bed, gathered clean sheets and blankets for him and settled him in so that they could hold hands as they slept. As I left to go back to their apartment, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for all this nurse had done to give my parents peace that night.

Cristiana demonstrates excellence through clinical expertise. My Mother has been on oxygen since she was admitted to the hospital and her tube occasionally falls on the floor when she is dressing or going to the bathroom. Other nurses just pick it up and put it back in her nostrils. This nurse does not tolerate this "non-sterile" technique, but instead gets new tubing for my mother's oxygen. I appreciate this commitment to excellence.

She also demonstrated extraordinary service. During my Mother's worst days when she could barely stand, Cristiana faithfully used the gait belt for safety, patiently helped her stand and coaxed her to "stand up straight and look at me" as she walked her to and from the bathroom. It was a very slow and tedious process, but I knew my mother was in safe hands.

Two nights ago, Cristiana heard my Mother telling my Aunt about her longing for clean hair. It has been 4 weeks since she has washed her hair! My Mother is not able to shower, but Cristiana offered her a microwavable shampoo cap instead, gently massaging her scalp and removing some of the oil. This act of kindness felt good and allowed my mother to feel like she had clean hair.

Again, I was so appreciative of her going above and beyond her required duties. There are many other examples that I could recall, but the ones I described above do tell you the excellent character and expertise of Cristiana Lima as an RN.