Laura made a significant impact during an event that occurred in the ED involving an emotional family member who was fearful that he was losing his wife.

Tensions were high and there was a lot of shouting. The family member was not allowed to see his loved one. I think the doctors and nurses were fearful that he might interfere with the care they were trying to provide, but all he really wanted to do was to hold his wife’s hand as she was dying.

For some reason, when Laura talked to the doctors, nurses, and family, things became immediately calm. Laura showed compassion and professionalism in how she handled the situation. The family member was now allowed to hold his wife’s hand and was involved with decisions in her care. This really touched me because I was there and felt that the man’s concerns were not being heard.

Although I do not want to ignore the fact that there are times when family members interfere with critical patient care items, this was different. There was a language barrier but we had an interpreter. Also, culture played a role because the way he said and reacted to things was unfamiliar to the caregivers. Imagine your loved one is taking their final breaths and someone is shouting at you to leave or call the police. This is not a good feeling and only escalated emotions.

Laura made sure that the man was allowed to hold his wife’s hand and at least come to reality with what was going to happen.

Laura deserves this award for showing empathy, exercising patience, and acting in a professional manner to everyone involved, always putting the family and patient first.