Kristin has outstanding customer service. She has gone out of her way to get lemon juice for a patient in the middle of the night. This patient always puts lemon juice in her water and ran out and Kristin found a way to get this patient lemon juice for her water. She was dedicated and patient with a breastfeeding mother who was struggling. Kristin donated a picture printer to the unit so that staff could print pictures out for parents who experienced a fetal demise. Knowing how difficult it would be to have pictures printed at a shop, Kristin donated her own printer for this purpose and it is still used today. Kristin also gave exceptional care to a first time, exhausted mother who had a very fussy baby. Kristin was so nurturing, reassuring, patient and kind with this family who raved about their care. These are just a few examples of her commitment to our patients.
Kristin is very dedicated to our patients, and her teammates. Kristen's patients love her and her caring attitude. Patients say things like, "she treated my baby like her own", "she was always there before I even asked", etc., etc. At the same time ensuring safe, evaluative nursing assessments. The perfect combination.
Perhaps Kristin's greatest contribution to the unit is her work on the Bereavement Services we provide. Unfortunately, with all the miracles of life also comes the heartbreak of a fetal or neonatal loss. Last year Kristin attended a Bereavement Class. A class all nurses on the unit have to take. In the class, Kristin saw an opportunity to make improvements to what we offer our patients who experience a loss. Kristin has spent the last year attending conferences, participating in conference calls, and coordinating with various individuals in GHS and the community to pull in more resources for care and support. She has taken the Bereavement Manual from Greenville and really made it more user-friendly, location specific, and colorful. Kristin also submitted an allocation request for funding for a Cuddle Cot for the unit. This is a device that is used to keep babies cool which preserves their fragile bodies allowing parents to have more time with their baby. While our allocation request wasn't chosen by the Foundation for purchase, our unit supported Kristin's allocation and appreciated her work on this and we were able to purchase it with funds the department won from a grant in a previous year. Once the manual and cuddle cot were complete and available, she presented the information at a staff meeting with the assistance of the GMH chaplain who had helped serve as her mentor for this work. The session was then followed by a question and answer session on bereavement insight and was well received.
Kristin has donated other items for bereavement care to support not only the patients but also siblings. She has purchased t-shirts and paint for siblings to make handprints/footprints with their baby brother or sister who has died. She has done the research and had discussions with Greenville Memorial to determine the best product for hand molds so that we could offer those to families.
She has developed and implemented a way to keep up with our mothers after discharge and sends them a lavender butterfly card on the anniversary of their loss.
Kristin challenges the entire staff with her pursuit of continuing education and the importance of patient education. With the ever-shortening length of hospital stay, she realized the importance of providing written education for parents to read once they are discharged. While GHS was in the process of updating the patient education packet, we were to direct patients to a website where they could find the education. Knowing this would not be good enough for our population, Kristin compiled the information into an interim handout so that patients would have this for reference after discharge.
Kristin saw a need for a pediatrician provider list and she made one! She created a document that listed all of the pediatricians in the community along with their contact information. This was a gap and because of her initiative, we now have something tangible to give to patients so that they can make a well-informed decision about their options for their baby.
Kristin created a tip sheet for staff to use with Spanish speaking patients during labor. It is very difficult to give simple instructions during labor to a patient using the interpreter. Kristin worked to create a tip sheet that gave simple sentences such as, "Puedo verificar el cuello uterino?" and "Es el momento para emujar" and "descender mas bajo en el cama". These simple phrases said by the nurse caring for the patient allows for direct conversation. This can be so much more comforting when said by the nurse caring for them in an intense moment. This was then brought to management and thus approved by Language Services and shared with the staff. This again demonstrates Kristin's commitment to patient advocacy and education.
Kristin is an excellent team member who always jumps in to do whatever it takes to get a job done. During the March of Dimes campaign this year, she created posters, made handmade items to sell, and helped to rally others to raise awareness for premature babies. Kristin personally knows the angst and overwhelming impact on a family as she experienced this with her own premature baby.
Numerous employees have recognized Kristin for her help and assistance with patients who have a fetal demise. Since she has spent so much time and effort improving our services, she knows so much about how things should be done and how to help staff in dealing it. The fetal bereavement process can be sometimes confusing, and she always makes herself available, even on her days off. She assists in the paperwork navigation and the emotional aspects of a loss. On more than one occasion she has spent the afternoon on the phone with day shift nurses to help them determine which forms would be used and how to approach a grieving mother. This is just one example of how Kristin has a true heart for bereavement services and making the process better for everyone, patients and fellow nurses.
An all-around "do it all" person. Kristin is a wife, mother, homeschool teacher and full-time nurse. She is amazing. She impresses me and pushes me to be more every day.