Working in the Neuro ICU can be challenging. We are often faced with end of life scenarios that are unexpected and abrupt. Families do not often have time to plan or even process the event that has inundated their loved one. Sometimes the thought of a person or someone's loved one passing away inside of a hospital room instead of home, surrounded by things and people they loved, can be just as difficult as the neurological injury to process by loved ones. The hospital's basic white sheets and walls decorated with monitors and technology isn't an ideal place for grieving. Jennifer has made many contacts in the community, reaching out to many long term care facilities and family friends to help this unit make the end of life process "easier", if that is even possible. She has contacted people to knit beautiful blankets, some prayer blankets, others made simply with love. She organizes collections on our unit to donate the yarn to be used for these blankets. These coverings are then draped over those white sheets to make that room feel more like home. The family is welcomed and encouraged to take that blanket home as a memory of their loved one and a celebration of their life. I could go on for hours about Jen. She has helped initiate and "Art Therapy Program" on our unit. She finds ways to help fund it, taking time out of her day to reach out to other professionals for donations to keep these programs open. Jennifer simply goes above and beyond for our unit and is a true DAISY Nurse.
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Jen has always gone above and beyond. She organized to have donations made towards Art Therapy for NCCU patients. With this program, she was able to have artwork placed in patients' rooms. Art therapy is appropriate and helpful for our patient population. Jen shows compassion towards those in need. She also organizes "CMO blankets". She has organized comfort blankets to be knit by volunteers. These blankets are provided to passing patients. Jen has been a nurse on NCCU for 20+ years. She certainly became a nurse for all the right reasons and it still shines through to this day.