This weekend, we had a patient who was admitted with failure to thrive. The real truth behind the story is that the 24 year old is a functional, developmentally delayed young man who lived with his mother. He was admitted to the hospital because he had been in the house with his deceased mother for a period of time. Someone came to the house to check on them and they found her unresponsive. There was no heat in the house. His mother was brought to the hospital for resuscitation attempt and he came along with her. He was admitted after she was pronounced because he had nowhere to go. Lauren Long was assigned to care for this young man and began the process of trying to help him find his family. Because he had a delay and became slightly agitated, Lauren got a sitter for him to keep him company and ensure his safety. She kept trying to find family, but he would not give her any numbers. Lauren collaborated with the sitter. She had been dialing numbers for him to reach out to family and found a number for his sister. Because of the circumstances, Lauren left the number for the doctor so that she could call the sister and update her about the situation. There was no response from his sister that day.
The process continued into the next day when Lauren was caring for the man again. She tried many avenues to find information about the patient and his family with no luck. She continued to have the patient call his sister and finally, she answered. He told his sister that he was in the hospital, but did not explain why. She came to the hospital and was met by Lauren. Lauren was empathetic and spoke to the sister and informed her that the mother had passed, her brother was here as an inpatient because he had nowhere else to go, and that her mother's body was being held in the morgue at the hospital waiting for proper family notification before she could be released. Lauren then called the ER to let them know that a family member of the deceased patient was here to see what the next steps should be. She also contacted the chaplain, house supervisor, and security. Lauren explained to them that the family was here for the patient who had passed away. Finally, the proper process was followed and the family could proceed with her burial wishes. The son of the patient was also cared for and discharged with his sister.
I believe Lauren went above and beyond because she could have waited on others to handle this situation after the weekend. Instead, she worked tirelessly for 2 days to care for the patient's son and ensure the deceased patient and family notifications were handled with dignity and respect. She made a connection with the patient's son and his sister as well. This is a true example of putting patients at the heart of all we do!