Mary goes above and beyond for her patients and provides the highest quality care for both the patients and their families. On the LTAC unit, we frequently have patients that are here for weeks and months at a time. In the past months and three separate occasions, I witnessed extraordinary examples of Mary's compassion towards patients and families.
A patient has been on the unit for over 150 days. Mary recently bought the patient's daughter a necklace from the gift shop stating "Moms always get their children something on their birthdays. It doesn't matter how old you are." A day later was the patient's birthday. Mary got the staff together and we pooled some money to get the patient a gift. She picked out a portable DVD player for the patient to watch movies and presented it to the patient. She also asked the MD if the patient could have cake for her birthday as well. Due to the patient's disease process, she is usually NPO except for ice and water.
Mary has also provided a couple of wigs to a patient who recently had chemotherapy and now has alopecia to try on for looks. She attended the funeral of a patient who recently passed away. The family had become very attached to many staff members who provided care to their mother. The funeral was two hours from Mary's home and the family stated her coming to the funeral meant a lot to them, that someone who cared for her was there.