February 2013
Rhonda
Mckee
,
RN
5 North, Comfort Care
Salem Health: Salem Hospital
Salem
,
OR
United States
Rhonda consistently displays her compassionate care and exemplary service. She takes the time to listen to her patients and treats them by the golden rule.
Each night she welcomes her night shift peers with a "Good Morning Everybody". She brings a smile and a positive attitude every night, no matter how difficult the previous night may have been.
On one particular night I was awed by how bright she could SHINE.
We were receiving a comfort care transfer from ICU. This particular patient had been in the ICU for well over a month. This family had developed a close relationship with some of the ICU staff and vice versa. The patient eventually was transferred out of the ICU to 5N. Rhonda had been cautioned that this family was far from thrilled to have their family member transferred. The family was having a difficult time coping with the transition to comfort care and was slowly moving through the grieving process. Each family member was in a different stage in the grieving process in anticipation of their loved ones death. One of the children was clearly in the anger stage.
The patient arrived shortly after shift change, when there are so many tasks to accomplish. Rhonda stopped what she was doing, greeted the patient by name and welcomed the family to the unit. While the patient was being "tucked" in, the son loudly was voicing his concerns regarding his mother being treated like a bag of garbage to be tossed in the trash. I listened and reassured the son that we would take excellent care of his mother. I was thinking to myself this could be rough. I communicated to Rhonda the son's concerns. Rhonda proceeded into the room with a calming smile, greeted all the family and discussed the plan of care. Frequent rounding throughout the night resulted in putting the family at ease. The son who began being so angry was now able to verbalize his feelings and ask questions. It was evident, in my opinion, that Rhonda had quickly developed a rapport with this family and eased their fears.
Early the next morning the patient peacefully passed away. Rhonda displayed such empathy, patience, calmness, and compassion, that after just one night with this patient and family she had brought them all to one place together, ACCEPTANCE. This is truly an extraordinary talent.
Each night she welcomes her night shift peers with a "Good Morning Everybody". She brings a smile and a positive attitude every night, no matter how difficult the previous night may have been.
On one particular night I was awed by how bright she could SHINE.
We were receiving a comfort care transfer from ICU. This particular patient had been in the ICU for well over a month. This family had developed a close relationship with some of the ICU staff and vice versa. The patient eventually was transferred out of the ICU to 5N. Rhonda had been cautioned that this family was far from thrilled to have their family member transferred. The family was having a difficult time coping with the transition to comfort care and was slowly moving through the grieving process. Each family member was in a different stage in the grieving process in anticipation of their loved ones death. One of the children was clearly in the anger stage.
The patient arrived shortly after shift change, when there are so many tasks to accomplish. Rhonda stopped what she was doing, greeted the patient by name and welcomed the family to the unit. While the patient was being "tucked" in, the son loudly was voicing his concerns regarding his mother being treated like a bag of garbage to be tossed in the trash. I listened and reassured the son that we would take excellent care of his mother. I was thinking to myself this could be rough. I communicated to Rhonda the son's concerns. Rhonda proceeded into the room with a calming smile, greeted all the family and discussed the plan of care. Frequent rounding throughout the night resulted in putting the family at ease. The son who began being so angry was now able to verbalize his feelings and ask questions. It was evident, in my opinion, that Rhonda had quickly developed a rapport with this family and eased their fears.
Early the next morning the patient peacefully passed away. Rhonda displayed such empathy, patience, calmness, and compassion, that after just one night with this patient and family she had brought them all to one place together, ACCEPTANCE. This is truly an extraordinary talent.