From the moment the patient arrived in our ER, I saw the bond form between Jamie Burke and the family. The patient was at the end of life, the family had been trying to arrange hospice care at home with their primary care doctor but had been unsuccessful. As he grew sicker the family didn't know what to do for him so they called 911.
I had the pleasure of watching Jamie care for this man and his family in their time of need as if they were her own. From the start, Jamie spent extra time that she didn't have on a very busy day to listen to their needs and wishes. She held hands and cried with them. We signed DNR forms and started making hospice calls for the family. Jamie could have stopped at that, but she didn't.
Immediately, she sprang into action trying to make arrangements to get this gentleman and his family back home as he had wished. She worked diligently with our social worker and case manager. After hours of calls, they had finally gotten everything situated and were just waiting for a bed to arrive at his home.
Jamie exemplified what a true compassionate patient advocate should be. In a situation where she could have passed up the opportunity to provide end of life care according to a dying man's wishes, she chose to go above and beyond her role and provide him and his family with solace.