Tracey Clifton
July 2021
Tracey
Clifton
,
BSN, RN, MSJ, NE-BC, CLNC
Medical Surgical Services
NorthBay Healthcare
Fairfield
,
CA
United States

 

 

 

Tracey demonstrated compassion by sitting with my mom and taking the time to build trust with her.
My mother was admitted to the 1West Unit in March, her care is a difficult one; she wasn't there for any acute medical need but was forced out of her home at VCRC. Her case was complicated by the fact that she is quadriplegic with only the physical capability to move her head as well as her worsening psychiatric diagnoses. My mom was trapped in her body and mind, making it incredibly difficult to reach her and try to care for her.

Tracey recognized the complications of my mother’s case and realized it could mean she could be with NorthBay longer than a typical patient stay. She immediately called a care conference with case management, social services, and the nurses caring for her, as a way to bridge the gap and try to understand how best to care for my mom. Immediately I could sense her compassion, her wiliness to be creative to help make a change in how the unit and team cared for my mom. Tracey demonstrated compassion by sitting with my mom and taking the time to build trust with her, listen to her needs, and create a simple printed care plan called "K's Care" that staff could implement and follow to help take better care of her. It didn't stop there Tracey also took time out of her busy Director's schedule to personally wash my mother’s hair which had become severely knotted and tangled during her stay. Lastly, Tracey continued to demonstrate compassion by finding a way to pick up my mother's wheelchair, her lifeline, from VCRC and get it to the hospital where she could enjoy a few hours a day outside in the fresh air.

Tracey went above and beyond in caring for my mother and me, there are truly no words to describe the impact she has made in our lives and I will forever be grateful.   My perspective is a unique one as her daughter as well as a Labor and Delivery RN for NorthBay. I have taken care of my mother for most of my life, in fact, she is one of the reasons I became a nurse. It was my experience growing up watching the nurses take care of my mom that inspired me to make a difference in the lives of my patients and families. Tracey absolutely displayed this type of compassion and deserves one of the highest honors we can give her for her role in caring for my mother and me. Tracey has given us hope through her actions and has really made me proud to be a part of the NorthBay team.