Tracie Battipaglia
April 2024
Tracie
Battipaglia
,
RN
Critical Care Transport
Yale New Haven Hospital
New Haven
,
CT
United States
After being here for 28 years, there are way too many connections to count. From holding the hand of a dying patient to attending numerous services of patients who have passed, Tracie has connected with countless families.
Tracie was made to care for pediatric patients. She ensures that every patient she comes across gets the best possible care. She is well known for giving every one of her patients, no matter the age, a teddy bear after they arrive at the hospital. There is not a better nursing role model in the Children's Hospital than Tracie. Not a day goes by that she is here, that she is not called to help explain a topic, help with a skill, or just be available for general advice. Tracie always puts the patient first, she is not afraid to stop the line, or have a questioning attitude when it comes to caring for her patients.
After being here for 28 years, there are way too many connections to count. From holding the hand of a dying patient to attending numerous services of patients who have passed, Tracie has connected with countless families. Three specific examples stand out to me. The first one was years ago when there was a child who lived on one of the in-patient units for a very prolonged period of time. This patient did not have a family. At Christmas of that year, Tracie was not working but brought her entire family to have Christmas with this patient, including purchasing gifts for him to open.
Second was a connection from about 2 years ago, with a patient in the PICU. This patient was in the PICU for over a year and Tracie bonded with the patient and his mother. It is well known to the PICU staff how much Tracie cared for this patient. The patient was eventually sent to a long-term care facility. The patient's mother was unable to visit the patient due to her not owning a car. She was not from the area, so she had no friends or family local to take her to visit her son. Tracie reached out to the mother and gave the mother multiple rides to visit her son at the facility.
The third major special moment was last year, when Tracie played a big role in taking a terminally ill patient to the beach with her family for her final wish. Tracie was part of the care team that ensured the patient was safe during her beach trip.
Tracie has not only made an immeasurable impact on the families of her patients, but her family here at Yale as well. There is not just one example that can truly articulate how this nurse has made a difference. There are countless children alive today because Tracie was involved in their care. The examples above prove that she is what being a nurse is all about. To her Yale family, she is priceless. She is the educator of the transport team, even though she receives no extra compensation or benefit. There is not a problem solved on the Transport Team without Tracie's expertise. You cannot justly put into words the difference that Tracie has made to her patients, their families, her co-workers, and the nursing profession as a whole.
After being here for 28 years, there are way too many connections to count. From holding the hand of a dying patient to attending numerous services of patients who have passed, Tracie has connected with countless families. Three specific examples stand out to me. The first one was years ago when there was a child who lived on one of the in-patient units for a very prolonged period of time. This patient did not have a family. At Christmas of that year, Tracie was not working but brought her entire family to have Christmas with this patient, including purchasing gifts for him to open.
Second was a connection from about 2 years ago, with a patient in the PICU. This patient was in the PICU for over a year and Tracie bonded with the patient and his mother. It is well known to the PICU staff how much Tracie cared for this patient. The patient was eventually sent to a long-term care facility. The patient's mother was unable to visit the patient due to her not owning a car. She was not from the area, so she had no friends or family local to take her to visit her son. Tracie reached out to the mother and gave the mother multiple rides to visit her son at the facility.
The third major special moment was last year, when Tracie played a big role in taking a terminally ill patient to the beach with her family for her final wish. Tracie was part of the care team that ensured the patient was safe during her beach trip.
Tracie has not only made an immeasurable impact on the families of her patients, but her family here at Yale as well. There is not just one example that can truly articulate how this nurse has made a difference. There are countless children alive today because Tracie was involved in their care. The examples above prove that she is what being a nurse is all about. To her Yale family, she is priceless. She is the educator of the transport team, even though she receives no extra compensation or benefit. There is not a problem solved on the Transport Team without Tracie's expertise. You cannot justly put into words the difference that Tracie has made to her patients, their families, her co-workers, and the nursing profession as a whole.