Susan Lassen
January 2019
Susan
Lassen
,
RN, CHPN
Palliative Care
UnityPoint Health - St. Luke's Hospital
Cedar Rapids
,
IA
United States
One day I had a very busy schedule and a doctor wanted me to meet with a 27-year-old female, stage IV breast cancer, married with 2 young children. I had a complex patient and family to see so I asked Susan if she would please see this young lady for me, immediately Susan agreed and told me she would let me know the outcome of the meeting.
Now, this 27-year-old was doing very poorly on chemotherapy and had a scan done. Susan was informed by the doctor's team before the visit that this young lady was in fact dying. Susan met with the patient, her spouse, parents, and the doctor. The doctor informed them again that the chemotherapy was not working, but the doctor could not tell this young lady that she was dying. When the doctor and her mother asked if she was dying, Susan told them yes. She provided good communication, empathy, and support to them as they digested this horrible but true news. She then proceeded to talk about how to best care for her going forward and discussed Hospice care which they accepted. Susan made an immediate call to me and the Hospice team to get her admitted as soon as possible. Susan communicated this conversation to the doctor, who agreed with the Hospice referral. The Hospice team admitted her the same day and this young lady died within 72 hours of Susan's visit.
If not for Susan, this patient and family would have been misled and not had the services in place which they desperately needed. I know Susan provided them with the utmost compassion and provided clear communication about the seriousness of her disease. Because of this, our patient was able to die peacefully at home, surrounded by her family, spouse, and two young children.
Susan came back to our office after this very intense and sad meeting and broke down crying. The sadness she could see in the parent's eyes was so overwhelming and she pictured herself about to lose a child and could not bear the thought of such a devastating situation.
Susan always has a positive attitude and has the most compassion I have ever seen from a nurse with all of our patients. She keeps our outpatient team running without complaint and I know she delivers the best care to each and every one of our patients each day. She takes her role very seriously and has such a great sense of ownership for our Palliative Care team and how it is run day to day. I would not trust such a serious visit to any other nurse more than my nurse, Susan Lassen, RN. She is a true DAISY Nurse.
Now, this 27-year-old was doing very poorly on chemotherapy and had a scan done. Susan was informed by the doctor's team before the visit that this young lady was in fact dying. Susan met with the patient, her spouse, parents, and the doctor. The doctor informed them again that the chemotherapy was not working, but the doctor could not tell this young lady that she was dying. When the doctor and her mother asked if she was dying, Susan told them yes. She provided good communication, empathy, and support to them as they digested this horrible but true news. She then proceeded to talk about how to best care for her going forward and discussed Hospice care which they accepted. Susan made an immediate call to me and the Hospice team to get her admitted as soon as possible. Susan communicated this conversation to the doctor, who agreed with the Hospice referral. The Hospice team admitted her the same day and this young lady died within 72 hours of Susan's visit.
If not for Susan, this patient and family would have been misled and not had the services in place which they desperately needed. I know Susan provided them with the utmost compassion and provided clear communication about the seriousness of her disease. Because of this, our patient was able to die peacefully at home, surrounded by her family, spouse, and two young children.
Susan came back to our office after this very intense and sad meeting and broke down crying. The sadness she could see in the parent's eyes was so overwhelming and she pictured herself about to lose a child and could not bear the thought of such a devastating situation.
Susan always has a positive attitude and has the most compassion I have ever seen from a nurse with all of our patients. She keeps our outpatient team running without complaint and I know she delivers the best care to each and every one of our patients each day. She takes her role very seriously and has such a great sense of ownership for our Palliative Care team and how it is run day to day. I would not trust such a serious visit to any other nurse more than my nurse, Susan Lassen, RN. She is a true DAISY Nurse.