Recently my father-in-law was a patient at Hershey Medical Center. He underwent a VATS procedure for a lesion on his lung, which at the time was presumed to be cancerous. Fortunately it was diagnosed and treated early. Hopefully, as a result, he will have a favorable outcome!
Being a nurse I understand and value the role of a registered nurse throughout a patient’s hospital stay. However, I never really gave much thought about the role of the nurse in the Operating Room. As a nurse, I received report form the Recovery Room nurse and when family members have had surgery, it was always the surgeon who reported on what occurred in the Operating Room. Sure, surgery can’t occur without the nurses. They are integral staff which I took for granted, never giving them much thought. Jeri Herr changed that perception for me.
My father-in-law’s surgery required him to be in the operating room for 5 hours. As a family member waiting for news, that 5 hours seemed to last a lifetime. Jeri Herr, one of the nurses involved with his case recognized this and kept the lines of communication open. The way she spoke to our family helped us to realize she knew him and cared for him too. It was the little things, for example when she spoke to my sister-in-law the first time she told her they enjoyed caring for him. She went on to describe their interaction with him prior to being sedated. Apparently they laughed and joked with him and called him ‘Pop’ at his request. That made us laugh and allayed some anxieties. We got the sense he was in good hands. She next spoke to my mother-in-law. She was caring and kind noting the fear and concern in my mother-in-laws voice. She was on her way home but thought she would stop on her way out as she had been communicating with us on the phone and wanted to assure us in person ‘Pop’ was doing well. We were touched by this. Jeri then went on to say “we are family taking care of families. We all seek our healthcare here and treat families like we would want to be treated.” She was open to questions and joined us at the table to answer our questions. She assured us ‘pop’ was in good hands that Dr. R was highly skilled and she would choose him to care of her own mother. What a powerful message! Prior to leaving us she asked us to do one more thing… “by all means when he is able to eat and drink, get that man a cup of coffee”. You see my father-in-law loves his coffee and he made that known to whoever took care of him. We laughed knowing she knew her patient well! She was invested in his care! Her words were powerful and resounded with us on many levels!
My father-in-law received the very best care during his hospitalization, most of it noteworthy and all very much appreciated. His tumor was diagnosed at John Hopkin’s. However, he and his wife made a conscious decision to choose Hershey for his surgery because of the great people. They were not disappointed! Jeri was one of those people. She left a lasting impression for many reasons. She exemplified the epitome of what family centered care is. Furthermore, she changed my perception of the value of the OR nurse. She was truly our advocate! She had our best interest in heart. ”