About a month ago we had a very difficult patient whom was stuck in the hospital, miserable and unhappy. This patient started to become depressed and lashing out not only on the nurses, but all staff in the hospital entering the room to help the patient. This patient became very difficult to the point of any help we would provide, she would turn around and relieve the care provider of any providing future care.
Every day she would call and voice complaints to administration and anyone. After exhausting all resources, the chain of command was utilized, and Vicki LaFary came to help. Vicki reviewed the entire chart prior to meeting with the patient. She found avenues of concern with the care and sought out ways to fix and correct the situation. She found new resources prior to entering the patients room to provide better care while expediting the necessary treatment that the patient needed to become well. The task did not stop here.
Vicki came to the floor on 2 separate days. The first day she spent over 3 hours visiting with the patient and listening to her needs. Vicki was amazing. The patient finally was smiling again after their meeting. The next day, Vicki came back, and she took the patient outside for an additional 2 hours while clearing her afternoon schedule to spend time and provide holistic care. This patient was happy again and was becoming more receptive to nurse's teachings and plans of care.
The power of just listening helped this patient come out from a dark spot and back into the light. Practicing in nurse leadership, sometimes we are far removed from bedside tasks and everyday life. However, Vicki went above and beyond while going back to the roots of human care. Vicki just listened. This extraordinary care impacted not only the patient, but other nurses upon the unit while exemplifying Mercy's core mission values of compassion, excellence, justice, and human dignity while providing sacredness of life in service. This was truly an inspirational moment in my nursing career.