Gia R Hayes
May 2024
Gia R
Hayes
,
BSN, RN
Case Management
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston
,
TX
United States

 

 

 

Gia helped arrange a wedding at the patient’s bedside prior to him being taken home by ambulance to hospice. Gia worked tirelessly for several days.
Gia was taking care of a terminally ill cancer patient who was COVID-19 positive. He was being discharged from the hospital to home hospice. His daughter desperately wanted to get married in his presence before he left the hospital to go home. She wanted him to “walk her down the aisle.” Gia helped arrange a wedding at the patient’s bedside prior to him being taken home by ambulance to hospice. Gia worked tirelessly for several days. She contacted infection control to see how many people were allowed to attend the wedding at the bedside in a COVID+ isolation room. All parties present were shielded by personal protective equipment to protect them from COVID-19. She helped the daughter get a marriage license from the courthouse, and when they found out there was a 72-hour waiting period, she helped get a signed letter from the patient’s physician requesting an exemption from the waiting period. With the exemption in place, she was able to arrange a wedding within 48 hours. Her job as the patient’s case manager was to set up in-home hospice and an ambulance to get home. The wedding was arranged out of the goodness of her heart. Gia always practices nursing with a generous heart and a loving spirit. She is the ultimate patient advocate. I know this family will forever remember the contribution she made to their lives.