Kaitlyn Freed, RN

Kaitlyn took care of one of our longer-staying patients who was awaiting an LVAD placement. The patient had become emotionally worn out from spending 3+ weeks in the hospital before her surgery. The patient told me that Kaitlyn “made her feel human again.” Kaitlyn washed and braided her hair, painted her nails, and even brought in gel eye patches and had her hair braided along with dry shampoo for when she wanted to freshen up her hair. The patient had her meeting for the decision on her LVAD placement, and Kaitlyn came in an hour before shift to get her hair washed and fixed and make her feel confident for her meeting. I watched Kaitlyn do all of this, and I ended up being the patient's nurse later that week. She sang her praises all day. Kaitlyn embodies our core statements, and although I’ve been a nurse longer, Kaitlyn has shown me what it really means to care for the whole patient.