Jonathan Grant
September 2021
Jonathan G
Grant
,
RN
Intensive Care Unit
Mid Coast Hospital
Brunswick
,
ME
United States
The small act of making an effort to communicate with her face to face in her own language of comfort in a moment of extreme stress and anxiety meant the world to her.
The DAISY Award was conceived as a way to recognize nurses who demonstrate extraordinary and compassionate patient care. Recently we were blown away by Jon Grant doing just this. On a busy night, as we frequently see in the ICU, we admitted a patient from the ED on bi-pap. When his wife went home from the ED her husband was stable. Shortly after he was moved to ICU his condition deteriorated and he was emergently intubated. The patient and his wife are both Deaf. The doctor was unable to call the wife to inform her of her husband’s declining condition. When calling her failed, we were unsure how best to reach her. As the night progressed his hemodynamics became more unstable and we were unsure if he would last the night.
Jon went above and beyond the call of duty. He phoned the local police, informed them we needed to reach a Deaf family member of a patient, and asked them to visit the home of the patient’s wife to let her know she should come to the hospital. They did. Once we received word from registration that she had arrived, Jon personally met her at the front door of the hospital. He took a sign language class in college, but by no means is fluent in sign. That said, he used his limited sign vocabulary to greet her, introduce himself, and take her upstairs.
We, of course, found the iPad interpreter to take over once the conversation progressed past introductions, but the small act of making an effort to communicate with her face to face in her own language of comfort in a moment of extreme stress and anxiety meant the world to her. He did not expect her to adapt to him. He made the effort to adapt to her. Not only that, he educated the rest of the unit on some nuisances within the Deaf community. For example, he shared some faux pas hearing people frequently make when interacting with Deaf people that, while well-meaning, can be offensive. This education ensured that the rest of the staff on the unit would also be able to interact with the patient and family appropriately and effectively.
He demonstrated extreme cultural competency, sensitivity, and care in a high-stress, dynamic, and quickly changing situation. For these reasons and many more, we are glad to work alongside Jon Grant. His attention and care truly make him a DAISY Nurse.
Jon went above and beyond the call of duty. He phoned the local police, informed them we needed to reach a Deaf family member of a patient, and asked them to visit the home of the patient’s wife to let her know she should come to the hospital. They did. Once we received word from registration that she had arrived, Jon personally met her at the front door of the hospital. He took a sign language class in college, but by no means is fluent in sign. That said, he used his limited sign vocabulary to greet her, introduce himself, and take her upstairs.
We, of course, found the iPad interpreter to take over once the conversation progressed past introductions, but the small act of making an effort to communicate with her face to face in her own language of comfort in a moment of extreme stress and anxiety meant the world to her. He did not expect her to adapt to him. He made the effort to adapt to her. Not only that, he educated the rest of the unit on some nuisances within the Deaf community. For example, he shared some faux pas hearing people frequently make when interacting with Deaf people that, while well-meaning, can be offensive. This education ensured that the rest of the staff on the unit would also be able to interact with the patient and family appropriately and effectively.
He demonstrated extreme cultural competency, sensitivity, and care in a high-stress, dynamic, and quickly changing situation. For these reasons and many more, we are glad to work alongside Jon Grant. His attention and care truly make him a DAISY Nurse.