A Naples resident came to the front lobby and met Peter the Greeter. She asked for help with Cardiac Surgery eduaction. Her husband had open heart surgery over a decade before. She was very impressed with the care here. So when a question about cardiac care arose in her life, she knew just where to go.
This nice lady's niece, in Ohio, has chronic cardiac problems and is currently on the heart transplant list. The niece was scheduled to undergo a Left Ventricular Assist Device, (LVAD). The Naples resident had plans to provide caregiving support after her niece's discharge from Cleveland Clinic, but she wanted to go there prepared with some baseline knowledge on how to help care for her niece.
Peter the Greeter gave her my contact info since I teach pre-op open heart (CABG/VALVE) classes for the surgeons once a week. He explained that she came to him regarding the caregiver class. I called to find out if she was looking for a caregiver class for LVAD, which is not a specialty here at NCH, but I wanted to help her. I reached out to Suzanne, a wonderful long time RN at NCH, who has been so helpful to the Cardiac Service Line. I wanted her input with this particular topic, since it was not something I was particularly knowledgeable about.
Suzanne was very enthusiastic about meeting and helping this woman and explained that she has, in fact, cared for a patient in her Home Health Nursing experience who underwent a LVAD Operation. Suzanne did some more research, printed out resources for her and met with her for over an hour. The woman texted me after they had met, "Suzanne is amazing! Thank you so much for the connection." She was so grateful for her time and for her guidance. LVAD is a huge surgery and I am so pleased with Suzanne's enthusiasm to go above and beyond to meet this woman who asked NCH for help!
Suzanne's dedication to cardiac care, education, and the community, really shines in this story! I think NCH shines a little brighter too because of her!