A group of us including five PICU nurses, a former PICU nurse, and a VCH Physical Therapist, are coming together to nominate Shannon Lynch, our Wound Care RN.  The following praises may sound a bit choppy but we all wanted to express our own thoughts about her, and we all agree she deserves to be showered in praise for her contributions to our unit and our hospital.      

Shannon is an incredible asset to the hospital, especially the PICU. Not only does she round on all of our high-risk patients, but she always comes by on the even hours because she knows our patients get turned then, and she is able to help us with this task.   And she doesn't just check their skin and leave; she is always game to tackle a bath, a diaper change, a full linen change, or whatever else the patient needs. She is SO flexible with nursing when she comes by for skin checks, and she sticks around to help with all the things that need to be done.  She also checks in with us on an emotional level when we have difficult assignments. She takes on so many roles.  There have been days where our unit staffing has been short and I've only been able to get a bath and linen change done on a challenging patient because of Shannon. She is always willing to stay and help and always has a great attitude.    

One thing that always impresses me about her is her collaborative teamwork approach. She will accommodate her assessments and care when it will be the most useful and helpful time for the bedside nurse. She will gather people for turns and inspections so that the responsibility is not always on the bedside nurse because she knows how busy we can be. She always asks if there's anything else she can do to help before she leaves.  When she recommends that a 
patient be switched to a Dolphin bed, she not only orders it for you but comes back to the unit when it arrives to make sure it's functional and help with the sometimes Herculean task of switching the patient (usually intubated, often on ECMO)  from their current bed into the one that is better for them. She constantly goes above and beyond, and we appreciate it so much. I have no doubt that she has prevented countless pressure injuries with her tireless work, and she's made the lives of her patients and her coworkers better in the process.

Shannon is always flexible, works around our schedules, and, more importantly, she will be there as an extra set of hands when we are short-staffed. She'll run and get extra wound and skin care items so we can stock our patient rooms for the next shift. I swear she visits service center and the clean utility room more than I do on any given day.  She is so patient and always thoughtful. She listens to concerns, acts immediately, follows up, and elevates higher needs.

From a Physical Therapy perspective she coordinates with us (and around our schedule) to couple assessments with mobility.  She can read the room and not overwhelm a patient with more people if it's not the best time. She's amazing.

When my nephew was in the hospital, Shannon learned his C-collar skin care hadn't been performed for a few days after leaving the PICU, so she immediately went up to the floor and to his room. She removed his Mepilex, did a thorough skin check, washed his neck, and replaced his Mepilex pads. My 5-year-old nephew said, "It felt so good!" Such a small action, like washing his neck, made a big difference to how he was feeling and made him more comfortable. It also was a big relief to me as a family member knowing that his skin had been properly checked and cared for! Just knowing that she immediately made him a priority was so meaningful to me and his parents, and we were so impressed by her!    She deserves all the recognition in the world, and we appreciate her so much. We love you, Shannon!!!