Sandy has touched too many lives to count in her long nursing career. Sandy is compassionate, patient focused and totally engaged in the "front-line" as well as the "behind the scenes" care. Sandy's generous gifts to her patients are the gifts of her time, attention, compassion, patience, experience, knowledge, availability, caring, sensitivity, understanding and overall willingness to find the means to get them what they need. It may be help finding a ride, a thermometer to monitor temperature during chemo, funds for patient education or other fund-raising events. Sometimes just a call to say "hello, how are things going?", celebrating one's final radiation treatment, a visit on the unit postop, a joke, a laugh, a smile, a hug when someone gets bad news (or even good news). Attending funerals for those who have lost their battle, co-leading support groups for young patients with cancer, persistence in reaching out to those who choose the wrong path or simply can't choose any path at all- Sandy's commitment knows no bounds. She initiates difficult conversations and doesn't shy away from challenging patients and circumstances. She has co-presented at Schwartz Rounds on several occasions recalling extraordinary cases which she had involvement in. Those are the cases which require an extra dose of empathy and patience while providing information and support in a non-judgmental manner. Sandy always finds the strength and means to do that. She sees each patient as the individual that they are and adjusts accordingly. Years of experience along with her own instinctual nature seem to make this possible.

Sandy had a special connection with a woman who had some very unusual traits and concerns. Due to her appearance partly, she had expressed to Sandy how she perceived that she was treated. She was very expressive to Sandy and she listened and appreciated this woman's observations and concerns. Sandy was committed to making sure that T's concerns were heard by the team and addressed. T also had very strong feelings about her wishes and her choices in how they were managed. Sandy spent countless hours over a couple of years with T as her journey took multiple courses. Sandy was consistently supportive of her values though not always agreeing with her choices. Sandy was very patient with her and allowed her the dignity to fight her battle in her own way-- always explaining the implications of her choices yet not judging her for what she needed to do. They talked on the phone, emailed, visited over her time with us.

She had a trust in Sandy and was comforted in knowing that she was always just a phone call away. She would never be judged or treated differently just because of how she looked or what she thought. She was her advocate on her journey.Ultimately when T found her peace at the end of her life it was with much caring, compassion and empathy from Sandy. She listens to her patients, truly listens. She looks them in the eye and in her silence and with her calming nods of understanding, she speaks volumes. You can feel the warmth and caring. Somehow she seems to know what to say, just the right words- or no words at all. It is an instinct, a quality that leaves you feeling like you are in a better place thanks to her. I see it and hear it when she is speaking to patients and families and I know that they do too.

A New Visit had been scheduled for one of the breast providers for a woman who was transitioning care from another hospital. She lived on Long Island and had stage IV breast cancer. The patient and her husband arrived at the center and the patient was found to be not responsive and unable to sit in a wheelchair. The On site Ambassador took the patient immediately to the ED for evaluation. The medical provider assumed that the patient was over medicated and wanted the patient released from ED to be seen in clinic. Sandy was notified of this problem and went directly to the ED to evaluate the patient and discuss with the family and ED attending. Upon meeting the family, it was very clear that this patient was very ill and unresponsive except to painful stimuli. However the husband was beside himself, stating that this was her wife's last opportunity to have some peace before death. The ED attending was not willing to release the patient to the clinic setting. Sandy's assessment of the serious nature of her condition made her take action to expedite care. Sandy returned to the clinic and discussed the situation with breast attending. The plan was for the physician and Sandy to go to the ED and discuss treatment options with this patient and family. Upon arrival in ED, the patient was disoriented and combative due to medication. Sandy stayed with patient to provide support and caring to her so that the husband could discuss treatment options with attending. While no labs were drawn the breast attending quickly realized that the patient was close to death and discussed openly with husband. Again, Sandy offered her sensitivity and empathetic touch to help comfort them at this difficult time. The plan was then created for the patient to be admitted for an overnight observation, mostly due to the condition of the patient and the long drive that the family had to return home.

The next morning, Sandy received a message from the husband that his wife had been made comfortable at YNHH and had ultimately passed away with family in attendance. The family was very grateful for the kindness and astute clinical judgment that Sandy possessed to create a plan that positively impacted the death of this new patient. Sandy was a patient advocate, established a plan that the provider agreed to and ultimately worked beyond her stated hours of work to accomplish this goal for the patient. Consistently, Sandy goes beyond her own personal needs to provide care to those that have been entrusted to our center. She works hard to provide the level of service that we can all be proud of.

Sandy is also an educator, a patient advocate, a multidisciplinary team member. She serves on numerous committees including Breast Center Steering Committee and played an integral part in the development of a comprehensive educational binder for breast cancer patients. She attends tumor board offering input on patient's behalf and coordinates follow-up based on those discussions. These are ways that she impacts the outcome of any patient's experience- providing them with the knowledge they need, communicating with the team in order coordinate care in an organized and effective manner, acting to improve all aspects of care, serving as a voice to represent the patient and their needs, providing a comforting environment of care, validating patient's feelings and needs to help minimize anxiety during stressful times. Sandy has also been a supporter of patients or families who wish to express their gratitude through their own fund-raising efforts (lemonade stands).

Sandy has been generous in contributions towards making one patient/family's wish for a train trip to New York City for a day during the holidays a reality. A young woman had a very complicated course of treatment following her breast cancer diagnosis. She spent months recuperating from a rare complication which left her in critical condition and in rehab for months. Her struggle to recover and overcome the odds of this condition was a very difficult one. She had recently adopted 2 young girls into her family and they depended on her to pull through. Miraculously she did and grew stronger. At the completion of her care, she had verbalized that her dream would be to take a trip to New York City with her family for a day of sightseeing. Eventually her dream came true and they had their day in the city! It gave the family the loving gift of time together without the stress and worries of her disease. They had a great day as a "normal family" and the girls were overjoyed and so was Mom!!

We meet a lot of people throughout our lives and many of them touch us in a special way that changes us forever. Sandy Hurd is one of those people. Her warm, caring, sensitive and unselfish manner is very impactful. As a Nurse Coordinator in the Breast Center in Smilow NP1, she goes out of her way to provide superior nursing care and gives 110% of herself each and every day. Many would never be able to maneuver through the emotional and often complicated journey without the gentle, professional and effective hand which she offers to guide them. Not only does Sandy provide for our patients but she is also a mentor for coworkers, a superior role model and motivator to all staff.