While some may say that Danielle has the "gift of gab," we at the Wound Healing Center have come to see that both her conversational patience and embodiment of empathy make Dani an asset to having patients' experience transform into a time of comfort rather than trial.
One of our patients has dealt with health issues and deformity since birth and was struggling in finding a voice with her protective parents, even as an adult. Dani comforted, cried along-side, empowered, and advocated for the patient to be able to share her health care goals and treatment concerns directly with the physician and facilitated open conversation among the family. When the patient seemed reluctant to pursue treatment options and wanted to put off care for more than a month, Dani took time to talk through the risks of delays and also at the same time explored "reasonable risk" in conversation between the physician and patient to ensure quality of life and personal fulfillment along-side timely treatment (allowing the patient to attend a concert she was very excited about before completing a surgery that would limit her mobility for an extended period of time). The result of these interactions was a trusting relationship that truly put patient-centered goal setting into play.
Another patient Danielle cared for had been struggling with wound healing and unexpectedly lost her husband. Although there was a language barrier between the Russian-speaking patient and Dani, a visit that started with emotion-wrought tears ended with smiles and hugs. We all know that many patients hate to wait and are quick to scoot out the door once their visit is done. I have seen patients linger just to say goodbye or get a famous hug from Danielle. She is a bright, lively presence and a shining example of the compassion, empathy, and support that define our Dignity values at MMC.