The Step Down Unit recently had a patient who passed away. She was well known to our Step Down team and when she passed away, it was hard on the team. The patient was admitted multiple times to the hospital for respiratory failure and was leaning towards hospice. She was a very sweet person who always had a smile on her face no matter how her day was going good or bad.
While on Step Down, the nurses would take turns coming in and saying hi to her even though they were not her nurse. Two days prior to the patients' passing, the patient had a conversation with her nurse, Laurie, about how she has been waiting for her brother to bring in new pajamas and that she was frustrated. That night Laurie went to the store and bought new pajamas for the patient because she knew how much the patient hated to wear our hospital gowns. Laurie was off the next day and surprised the patient with new pajamas.
The next day, Lucy saw that the patient was in respiratory distress and knew exactly what she needed to do. Lucy immediately called the physician, Palliative care, and the respiratory therapist to collaborate in making the patient comfortable. There was no hesitation from the interdisciplinary team to make that happen. The patient was very anxious about being placed on Bipap. Lucy was able to give the patient medication to help with her anxiety.
Jalyssa, the Charge Nurse, and the manager noticed that there were no family at the bedside and took turns sitting with the patient. The patient was complaining that she was hot and her mouth was dry so they fanned her and also moistened her lips and mouth with mouth swabs. They held the patient's hand and stayed until the family was able to be at the bedside. While Lucy was taking care of this patient, the other nurses made sure that Lucy's other patients were okay while still checking on this patient and the team. The patient was made comfort and passed away peacefully with her family by her side.
The patient's family stated that Step Down was the patient's home away from home. This truly shows the extraordinary care that the team provides every day. Their commitment, compassion, collaboration, and teamwork made a difference in this patient's life.