Tiffany Smith
September 2019
Tiffany
Smith
,
BSN, CPN
Resource Center
Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health
Indianapolis
,
IN
United States
Tiffany went above and beyond to care for my son and understood the details of his case during our hospital stay, but she also made us feel so comfortable during a hard time and truly treated us like humans. My son went through surgery to correct his sagittal craniosynostosis in early August 2019. We thought that hospital stay would be our last, but we had complications with his incision resulting in an ER visit late on Sunday evening on a holiday weekend, not an ideal time to be in the hospital. We spent the night in the ER with our 12-month-old and hardly got any sleep. Upon being admitted in the morning we had a very long day with little action Monday and ended up having to stay another night because we weren't able to see the proper doctors.
On Tuesday morning we met Tiffany. After frustrations and little-to-no sleep, Tiffany was a breath of fresh air. Understandably, our little guy is on edge any time a nurse walks in the room, knowing that it means people are going to touch him or poke him with needles or give him yucky medicine. When Tiffany walked in, she won him over instantly. She put his needs before her duties and made sure he was comfortable with her. Any time she walked in after he was completely calm and happy.
He was antsy during this hospital stay - he wasn't hooked up to as many machines as he was post-op and he had lots of energy. Laying in the hospital bed was NOT happening. Tiffany suggested a playmat and made sure to get one promptly from the physical therapy department. She fetched a high chair for us. She played songs on her phone and played with his toys. She did all of this unprompted, all on her own accord. When it came to his care she truly listened to our concerns and what we needed. She made a point to be present every time the doctors came in, taking notes, so she would know the details of what we were being told and what his care plan was. We didn't have to relay or repeat anything - she was ON IT.
We haven't had as many hospital stays as some others, but three stays in a month exposes a family to lots of nurses. Lots of nurses who are kind and caring and do a good job, but when one stands out it is a big deal and needs to be recognized. Tiffany put us at ease and did more for us than we expected.
On Tuesday morning we met Tiffany. After frustrations and little-to-no sleep, Tiffany was a breath of fresh air. Understandably, our little guy is on edge any time a nurse walks in the room, knowing that it means people are going to touch him or poke him with needles or give him yucky medicine. When Tiffany walked in, she won him over instantly. She put his needs before her duties and made sure he was comfortable with her. Any time she walked in after he was completely calm and happy.
He was antsy during this hospital stay - he wasn't hooked up to as many machines as he was post-op and he had lots of energy. Laying in the hospital bed was NOT happening. Tiffany suggested a playmat and made sure to get one promptly from the physical therapy department. She fetched a high chair for us. She played songs on her phone and played with his toys. She did all of this unprompted, all on her own accord. When it came to his care she truly listened to our concerns and what we needed. She made a point to be present every time the doctors came in, taking notes, so she would know the details of what we were being told and what his care plan was. We didn't have to relay or repeat anything - she was ON IT.
We haven't had as many hospital stays as some others, but three stays in a month exposes a family to lots of nurses. Lots of nurses who are kind and caring and do a good job, but when one stands out it is a big deal and needs to be recognized. Tiffany put us at ease and did more for us than we expected.