Linda received a very touching letter from a member of a patient’s family which epitomizes the nursing care and compassion Linda provides on a daily basis to her patients. The family was extremely grateful for including them long-distance in his care for a serious medical condition by updating them and allowing them to speak to their father for which they thought may be the last time. Linda demonstrates the values of JMC: rest, integrity, excellence, stewardship and teamwork. She is a true patient advocate, recently staying well past her shift to ensure a critical patient was transported safely out of JMC by Trauma Hawk. Her dedication to nursing is an inspiration to those of us working alongside her. M. Mu, Director, ED.
Family letter: On January 13, 2010, our father, Edward Ryan, was taken to your facility via ambulance to the Emergency Department. ?He was treated with empathy and professionalism by the emergency department staff. As his condition deteriorated, the physicians and nurses acted promptly to provide the necessary acute care services and to arrange a transfer to St. Mary’s Medical Center. We are very grateful for the care that your staff provided to our father.
There is a staff nurse named Linda who deserves particular recognition for both the clinical care she provided to our father, but also for the empathy she showed to us, his children. We are located in various parts of the country and Linda kept us apprised of his condition. When he arrived to the Emergency Department his apparent neurological compromise was minimal. After he returned from an MRI, his speech was garbled and ha a right hemiparesis. Linda called to give us updates and then allowed us to speak to our father, we thought possibly for the last time. Her compassion was evident and while we could not be there with him, at this very scary time, we had confidence that he had someone around him who cared and would comfort him.
As the CNO, you should be proud of the nursing care delivered in the emergency department. I am an emergency room nurse in California and was impressed with Linda’s unique abilities to help us understand what was going on and her contribution to expediting the transfer to St. Mary’s Medical Center.
Our father is recovering from his left basal ganglia bleed and is now ready to start the long process of acute rehabilitation. He appears to have his mental capacities and will need to work on his speech and learning how to use his right side.