My 92-year-old grandmother has had a recent string of hospitalizations, shaking us and causing constant worry and unknowns for herself and our family. A complexity of problems led to an admission on 4W at St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital. With a critically low lab value that left her in a dire situation, our otherwise independent and full-of-life matriarch was a shell of herself and struck fear into all of us. As her condition improved, she still had one last issue with lagging body functions remaining. These issues had never occurred for her before, causing much distress to her and our family with little to no explanation as to why they were occurring. 

Natasha was a BLESSING, spending the time to explain what was going on thoroughly to everyone involved, and was beyond compassionate and gentle with my grandma. She exhausted all possible options and interventions, championing for her. Most of all, she took time away from her day to actually listen to her patient's and our family members' concerns. She made us feel seen and heard and made us realize that our concerns were valid. She advocated to my grandma’s physician for a more agreeable and beneficial intervention at a level above and beyond what was required of her. Her advocacy, persistence, and compassionate understanding allowed my grandma the time she needed for an opportunity to thrive, resulting in her not being discharged with a new, unnecessary medical device. Her unwavering dedication to advocating for her patient’s wishes and best interests quite literally changed the course of my grandma's next few weeks of life, if not even more long-term. We are forever grateful for your thoughtfulness, kindness, patience, and care you give to your patients, Natasha!!