May 2021 Honoree
Morton Plant Hospital MSICU
Anderson, Rita CN II • Anderson, Tiffanie CN II • Antony, Anoopa CN II • Arntz, Amy CN II • Carney, Melissa CN II • Carpanzano, Carrie CN II • Crotty, Karen CN II • Cusack, Jenyfer CN II • Fagan, Mistie CN II • Gonsalves, Betty CN II • Harry, Jennifer RN Nurse Manager • Hatton, Patricia CN II • Klein, Erika CN II • Landon, Bri CN II • Lasky, Jordyn CN II • Le, Paul CN II • Mack, Laurie Assistant Nurse Manager • Mastrangelo, Whitney CN II • McGibney, Scott CN II • Murray, Erin CN II • Narula, Johana CN II • Person, Tammy CN II • Pettit, Claudia CN III • Prudente, Silvana CN II • Schwartzkoff, Sarah CN II • Shea, Michele CN II • Sweeney, Scott CN III • Taylor, Justin CN II • Tellone, Jennifer Assistant Nurse manager • Vandenbosch, Nicole CN II • Willard, Sara CN II • Williams, Jenny CN II • Grullon Leo BCP CN II • Hodge, Amanda BCP CN II • Carrol Gibbs, Stefani PST • Munger, Joshua PST • Bevilacqua, Dana PST • Miller, Alex PST • Morades, Justin PST • Kuhn, Christine BCP CN II • Westbrook, Bia BCP CN II • Weisen, Diem BCP CN II • Cox, Monica BCP CN II • Sudek, Jeanie CN II • Schoenberg, Stacy CN II • Englehard, Shawn BCP CN II
When I transferred into MSICU 10 years ago, I was blown away. I came from an exceptional team that I thought would be impossible to compare to, and I was sorely mistaken. The level of teamwork, compassion, collaboration, and support in this unit is beyond anything I have seen in any unit I have worked in. As the COVID 19 pandemic loomed and expanded into our area, we faced a challenge the likes of which none of us had ever experienced. We got our first COVID patient in the unit, then another, and then another. It was then decided that our team would be trading floors with CCU, converting to negative pressure and we would from then on be the "COVID ICU".
The level of anxiety at that point in time was understandably high. We faced a dangerous virus with little knowledge of how to treat it, how it was contracted, or what the survival rates would be. Images of overrun hospitals in Italy flashed in our heads. We were all terrified, but we didn't have time to dwell on our fear. We packed up our entire unit and our patients and moved two floors up to CCU. Some physicians then became ill with the virus. Several of us were quarantined due to exposure, and a few more of us became ill as well. We cared for one particular beloved patient with COVID for 5 weeks in our ICU, and that patient became part of our family. We spoke with the spouse multiple times a day and face-timed several times a day so that the spouse could see the patient for just a few minutes. We decorated the room with signs and pictures of the family. We lined the halls for the "Code Sunshine" when that patient finally left our hospital to go to rehab, and we clapped and cried because the patient was a victory for us in a time when we desperately needed it. The spouse is still in contact with several of our nurses and keeps us posted on the patient's miraculous recovery.
Our team sat with patients who were lonely, isolated, and scared. We held hands with patients as they died because their families could not be with them. We face-timed families so that they could see their loved ones one last time before they passed away. Some of our team brought in word puzzles, magazines, and books to give to COVID patients who were in our unit for weeks at a time with no interaction with the outside world, except their daily face time with their families. We found a way to push aside our fears and smile through it, because it wasn't about us. It was about the patients. They were scared and alone, and they needed us to reassure them it was going to be okay. It was a time of profound uncertainty, stress, and sadness. Through all of this, we found ways to cope. We made a memo board with funny pictures to make us smile. We started writing a "joke of the day" on our whiteboard every morning. One of our nurses made a collage with all our names on hearts that said," we are all in this together" in the center. And we were. We stayed together. We held each other up. We adapted. We laughed together. We cried together. We are stronger than we have ever been.
The level of anxiety at that point in time was understandably high. We faced a dangerous virus with little knowledge of how to treat it, how it was contracted, or what the survival rates would be. Images of overrun hospitals in Italy flashed in our heads. We were all terrified, but we didn't have time to dwell on our fear. We packed up our entire unit and our patients and moved two floors up to CCU. Some physicians then became ill with the virus. Several of us were quarantined due to exposure, and a few more of us became ill as well. We cared for one particular beloved patient with COVID for 5 weeks in our ICU, and that patient became part of our family. We spoke with the spouse multiple times a day and face-timed several times a day so that the spouse could see the patient for just a few minutes. We decorated the room with signs and pictures of the family. We lined the halls for the "Code Sunshine" when that patient finally left our hospital to go to rehab, and we clapped and cried because the patient was a victory for us in a time when we desperately needed it. The spouse is still in contact with several of our nurses and keeps us posted on the patient's miraculous recovery.
Our team sat with patients who were lonely, isolated, and scared. We held hands with patients as they died because their families could not be with them. We face-timed families so that they could see their loved ones one last time before they passed away. Some of our team brought in word puzzles, magazines, and books to give to COVID patients who were in our unit for weeks at a time with no interaction with the outside world, except their daily face time with their families. We found a way to push aside our fears and smile through it, because it wasn't about us. It was about the patients. They were scared and alone, and they needed us to reassure them it was going to be okay. It was a time of profound uncertainty, stress, and sadness. Through all of this, we found ways to cope. We made a memo board with funny pictures to make us smile. We started writing a "joke of the day" on our whiteboard every morning. One of our nurses made a collage with all our names on hearts that said," we are all in this together" in the center. And we were. We stayed together. We held each other up. We adapted. We laughed together. We cried together. We are stronger than we have ever been.
Thank you for your exceptional compassion, advocacy, and dedication to your patients. You truly make a difference.
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