nathalia vergara, RN

We had an extremely sick patient on 4East which is definitely not normal for Rehabilitation. To make matters worse, this was a Sunday and the PM&R doctors are not present on the unit after making rounds in the morning. The nursing staff was beside themselves knowing that this patient was willing himself to pass away and getting sicker by the minute. Nathalia was the SWAT nurse that day and was on the unit for the majority of the shift giving all of her support to my staff as well as the patient, his wife, and daughter. She went above and beyond when it came to communicating the urgency of the situation to the Hospitalists while also offering a tremendous amount of emotional support to a very distraught family and restless patient. Both the 4East nursing staff, as well as the family, expressed their gratitude for her compassion and willingness to support them through such a stressful time. It is situations like these that make me so proud to be part of the Upstate Nursing Team!