January 2017
Ellen
Mertz
,
RN-BC
Pediatrics
Saint Peter's University Hospital
New Brunswick
,
NJ
United States
On a Thursday afternoon, our young patient, S, was feeling down. It was S's twentieth day of hospitalization. She'd been our guest for a quite a long time, but she has been recovering and making great strides in recent days. As a matter of fact, she'd been extremely upbeat because her anticipated discharge date was approaching. So, it seemed strange that she was feeling sad that day. Two of her nurses, who had gotten to know her well, sat with her to try to understand what was going on. What they found out was that S's school pictures were that day, and she was missing them. She went on to tell them that she's never missed picture day and that it would be strange when her parents got her sibling's new pictures, but S didn't have a new one. Ellen and another nurse, were her awesome nurses, that sprung into action. They approached the ANM with a terrific idea. With the ANM's assistance, they called the multimedia department and begged for help. The next day, the unit got a call back from multimedia, and their plan was set into motion. At noon that day, someone from multimedia came to the unit armed with his equipment. After setting up in the playroom, S had herself a private photo shoot, compliments of Saint Peter's. Thanks to the two nurses who cared enough to go the extra distance to find out what was wrong, they made this young girl's day. This child and her family were touched that the staff made such an effort and were truly grateful for such a caring and holistic gesture.