St. Anthony's Hospital ICU

In all my years of nursing, the care and compassion the 2nd floor ICU at St. Anthony's team provides for their patients is above and beyond. On the second shift I worked, there was a patient who was dying and had lost his heartbeat. The team quickly responded to the code and started resuscitation measures quickly and efficiently, but in the corner was the patient's wife. I will never forget looking over and seeing another nurse take her hand, give her tissues, and never leave her side while the team worked on her husband. I thought: this nurse must just be compassionate. Until it happened again. On another day with another patient, the family member was in the room when the team rushed in to tend to the patient. This time, it was a different nurse who took the family member in and comforted them. And then, it happened again. Only this time, it was a team member struggling with the death of a loved one. The manager didn't hesitate in giving this nurse time off to grieve and be with her family, and in fact, checked in again and again to make sure this nurse was doing ok. Her compassion and leadership are directly reflected in her team. It was in those moments I knew this team was special. It does not matter if it is a patient, a loved one, or a team member, each person on this unit embraces whole person-centered care which includes family, friends, and caregivers. From taking little moments with loved ones as their family member battles for their life to printing their last heartbeat on a piece of paper and placing it in a little bottle for them to keep forever, this unit is more than deserving of The DAISY Team Award.