I wish this nomination could come from family, but sadly no family visited this patient. He was isolated and alone. I was his hospice nurse; he had a progressive neurological disease that left him unable to speak or move any of his extremities. He was totally dependent on all of his ADLs. My main focus as his nurse was to see that he was comfortable.

After a few visits with him, I was frustrated and unsure if I was meeting his need due to communication barriers. I had a conference with Meaghan who had been his nurse for several months. She had known him from earlier admission when he was more active and had witnessed his decline. First off, she is one of the sweetest, kindest most compassionate nurses I have ever met. She could tell me what each grunt and facial expression of his meant. She was able to help me tailor a pain management regime that would benefit him.

It was obvious that she spent an immense amount of time and effort to communicate and understand this patient which would be so easy to overlook or dismiss. Feeding him was another challenge, he was at high risk for choking. I noticed that he ate a good percentage of his meals still. She would go into specifics about how to feed him. The small amounts where the food had to be placed, and what position he had to be in to eat. It took about 40 minutes to feed him each meal, but the nurses and aides never complained. As a nurse, I cannot tell you how touched I was by the meticulous and loving care he received by Meahgan. The attentiveness and commitment she showed in her care was inspiring.