A few months ago, Julie was faced with a challenge; like many of us are, in our daily life as nurses. What separates Julie from others during this challenge, is her unwavering faith and grace in how she handled this challenge.
Julie had a non-English speaking patient who was in the states visiting his daughter from China. While this patient was here visiting his daughter, he became ill enough that he required hospitalization. Julie was assigned as this patient's care manager. Discharge planning for this patient became an immediate challenge as this patient was going to require IV antibiotics, as well as new oxygen. On top of that, he had a flight booked to return home to China.
I watched as my teammate made countless phone calls to the airline to find approval for oxygen for the flight, as well as, how the patient could travel with a PICC line and administer IV antibiotics on his flight. Did I mention she was coordinating this with the patient via a translator?
Julie was able to successfully discharge this patient, on a flight back to China with all the provisions in place.
Every day, we work with difficulties and barriers to successfully coordinate discharge for patients - what separates Julie in this situation is her determination, compassion, and grace, while coordinating this extremely difficult case. I am proud to work beside Julie on a daily basis. What she does makes a difference in many peoples' lives each and every day. Julie showed the perfect example of coordinating patient-centered care and is well-deserving of recognition for her work!