As a recent patient on 4West and a Kennedy employee I'm writing to recognize Linda Fleming. She was attentive to my care providing me with a lot of educational information on a diagnosis I knew very little about. This however, is not what made her stand out; it's what I heard outside my room that makes her an extraordinary nurse deserving of this award.
I quickly and quietly heard Linda gather a group of nurses telling them they were going to celebrate a patient's birthday. I then began to hear clapping and cheering coming down the hallway as the group began singing happy birthday as they walked through the unit. They ended at a room next to mine singing to the patient. Once they were finished I overheard another staff member say to Linda
"This is so nice of you to do this for your patients. It's really not fun to be in the hospital to begin with but to be here on your birthday has to be horrible and I think it's great you make it special for them. I want the same treatment on my birthday."
It was at that moment I realized this was not the first time she had done this. Nurses like Linda make Kennedy a special place not only to receive care but to work as well. I feel very proud to be able to call such a wonderful person a colleague.