After a 90 day stay, I am writing to let you know how incredibly impressed we are with this unit's staff. There were absolutely no noteworthy issues with the nursing care my son had received. On the contrary, his care was excellent at all times. I wish I remembered every nurse's name to sit down in 1 hour and recognize each of them individually. Since I know I cannot do that in any reasonable amount of time, I think the most appropriate is to recognize them with a DAISY Team Award. This also is true because there are nurses on this unit who were never assigned to my son yet cared for him or showed him they cared about him and our family. I found each nurse had something special they contributed to the entire group and that is above all what made my son's care so excellent. Each staff member added something special to the team and L's care.
The vision and mission of Children's are clearly achieved especially with a patient like my son. He is 8.5 years post double lung transplant and the nurses on this unit showed excellence in his patient care, in teaching him about the issues he was admitted for, the research done here at CHP has definitely contributed to his survival and treatment, and multiple nurses advocated for my son during his admission. We witnessed each of the values CHP strives for being displayed every day. Excellent QUALITY of care was always given to my son. I never saw any nurse rushing through his care or not offering the highest level of attention to detail. Multiple nurses showed a commitment of SAFETY by catching medication orders that were incorrect as well as verifying orders if there was any concern. As a post-op patient, a patient with a central line, as well as a patient with high-risk medications, each nurse showed amazing attention to the policies and procedures put in place for the SAFETY of the patient. My son was always treated with DIGNITY and was seen as a unique individual. As an adolescent entering young adulthood, the nurses did a great job RESPECTING where he was in his developmental stage and what he needed to feel comfortable during his stay. CARING was shown with the highest excellence by each of the nurses. When my son couldn't sleep at night and his anxiety was increased, the nurses showed such understanding. They showed empathy and compassion during the hard times and rejoiced with him in the milestones he attained. They LISTENED to him when he was frustrated, anxious, or upset without judgment. They understood sometimes he just needed to be heard and know that someone CARED about how he felt. All of the nurses on this unit took RESPONSIBILITY to care for patients as a team. So often another nurse would step in to help out or take over my son's care when it was needed due to another patient's emergency needs. They provided seamless care during these situations. INTEGRITY can be defined as the state of being whole and undivided which I just described how that was seen on this unit daily. I also greatly appreciated a nurse being honest about something involved in my son's care being new to them and reaching out to another team member or asking me questions. When you have a child like my son with complex, unique needs—that is paramount. This unit is a prime example of EXCELLENCE in nursing care as well as practicing INNOVATION with finding special ways of allowing my son the most normalcy he could have with his medical care, being in the hospital for three months, being an adolescent, and providing normalcy at this time.
All 12 guiding principles were also shown to us from day one and carried through for each day thereafter. My son has PTSD and anxiety as a result of his double lung transplant and medical care all of his life. Consistency, care, compassion, empathy, working as a team, and respect all help combat the additional anxiety acute medical problems present for my son. The team on this unit showed him all of these things each day which is what made this particular stay one which did not create a heightened anxiety state; rather the team on this unit had the opposite effect on my son. The continued positive, supportive attitude of all the nurses, not just those assigned to my son, created this atmosphere. This team as a whole went above and beyond every single day.
I want to also share that this was not just extended to my son, but also our entire family, As a large family that lives quite a distance (6 hours) away, spending Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve and Day here meant that it just wasn't my son, it was our entire family. The nursing staff showed great compassion to us as his parents, siblings, and his grandmother each day, but in particular during the holidays. Taking the minute to come by and say hi, see how everyone is doing, and to let my son and the family know they care was something we saw each staff member do every day.
When I think of The DAISY Award, I cannot think of any better example than this unit's staff.