I have known Wendy for many years in her role as an RN here at Cleveland Clinic Martin Health. She is one of those nurses who tends to be overlooked as she strives to give excellent care to her patients. Wendy always goes above and beyond and demonstrates strong leadership in her nursing skills. She never leaves a "why" unanswered, and will dig deep to make sure her patients are getting their clinical needs met.
She has an excellent rapport with our physicians; they trust and respect her questions and concerns. She is a team player- but what I have always admired about Wendy is her compassionate heart and the "little extras" she gives to her patients all the time.
One example that I would like to share is the one time I went onto her unit and could smell Bengay coming from a patient's room. Wendy had a big smile on her face and I knew there must be a story here to share.
Wendy informed me that as she was giving one of her patients a back rub to help alleviate her chronic back pain, this elderly patient had expressed how grateful she was as it reminded her of her recently deceased husband. She had reminisced on how her beloved husband had for many years rubbed Bengay on her aching back. So Wendy had called the patient's doctor and obtained the order for Bengay and made her patient tearfully happy. This is just one of many thoughtful "little things" that this Extraordinary Nurse will do all the time to promote positive patient outcomes!