Jan Rosenburg, BSN, RN

A little over a month ago, my mother was admitted to the ED with flu-like symptoms. Upon her arrival at the ED, she took a turn for the worse. Her heart stopped for seven minutes, and the ED doctors had to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to save her life. My dad, who was with her, called me in pure panic and distress. When I arrived at the hospital, completely overwhelmed–my first impression entering her room was that Jan was running the show. Without skipping a beat, he took the time to explain to us what happened (a massive pulmonary embolism). In that moment, we were unsure whether she would survive. He was respectful and made sure that when we had a priest come to pray with us and that the students moved outside of the room to give us the space. He quietly worked around us and allowed us to be by her side the entire time. Despite the fact that she was unconscious, he still talked aloud to her by name to tell her exactly what he was doing. During one of the scariest moments of our lives, we found comfort in Jan’s ability to keep us calm and to give us the hope that we so desperately needed.

We are beyond thankful for the entire team in the ED who helped save my mom’s life. It’s staff like those in the ED that day who make UI Hospitals & Clinics the absolute best. We cannot thank you all enough!