Dawn Thomas
December 2013
Dawn
Thomas
,
BSN, RN
NICU
St Mary's Medical Center
Evansville
,
IN
United States

 

 

 

One night, we were caring for an extremely premature infant whose prognosis was less than favorable. The mom was very distraught and unable to cope with the impending loss of her baby and was very short and angry with other nurses and staff members.

Dawn took the time (even though this was not her patient) to bond with the mother and created a caring, open and honest environment during the most difficult of times. She consistently walked to the mom's hospital room for frequent updates and told the mom when it was finally time to come and hold her dying baby before she passed away. She went out of her way to provide a private space for the grieving family and exhibited the most competent, empathetic, and caring attitude I have ever witnessed in such a situation.

Dawn sat with that mom and shared tears and laughter during that time and I could not be prouder that she is a coworker of mine. She is exactly what the DAISY award embodies and she truly lives our mission.