November 2010
Kathy
Fritze
,
RN
3 West
St. Joseph Medical Center
Towson
,
MD
United States

 

 

 

A young woman was readmitted to 3 West after the delivery of her baby. During the patient's most recent hospitalization she was forced to change her daily life drastically. Her newborn would now be staying with her and her husband in the hospital instead of the comfort of their own home. During the course of the patient's hospitalization she was sent for many tests. After the tests were completed it was determined that she would need surgery. Then, while recovering down in the PACU and it was determined that she would need to go back into the OR for emergency surgery. At this time the husband was faced with a difficult decision. Does he go down to see his wife and be at her bedside or remain upstairs with his 22 day old baby? Because of Kathy's kind heart, the decision was made a little more manageable.

Witnessing the distress on the dad's face, Kathy immediately started to take action to figure out a way to help out. She arranged for someone to come in to sit with the baby so the husband would be able to attend to his wife. When he returned to the room the staff could tell how much he truly appreciated the loving and compassionate care that Kathy had given him, his wife and his child while he was in an emergency situation. His face was overcome with relief that it almost brought him to tears. He realized everything was going to be OK and that he truly was in good hands.