Melissa has a wonderful ability to build rapport with families, even in the most stressful situations. On a recent shift, Melissa was a sounding board for a mom who had a lot more on her mind than her daughter's recovery from a procedure. The patient's mother confided in Melissa about some on-going mental and behavioral health issues the family was experiencing and how emotional and stressful that was for the whole family. It was late and the family was one of the last two patients to come out of surgery. Melissa listened to the mother's concerns, comforted her, and paged social work in an attempt to obtain resources for this family. Social work was able to provide some much-needed contacts for the family within their own state. However, it was the emotional support that Melissa was able to give the mother that made the most difference.
Melissa called me the day after the procedure and asked if I would make the post-op phone call, since she was not on site. I spoke with the mother and she could not stop talking about the comfort and time Melissa provided them. She stated, "I didn't even know who to call or where to go or who to talk to." She said Melissa helped her get her thoughts in order and gave her the push she needed in order to use the resources. She stated that both she and her daughter felt "much more hopeful" after Melissa's assistance.