Fowzia is a charge nurse on WSSU who works tirelessly to ensure that both patients and staff have what they need to deliver and receive the very best care possible. She is positive, and pitches in wherever needed, from helping with complicated medicine patients to taking on discharge when a nurse has two or three patients leaving within a short period of time. She exemplifies Stronger Together by filling the role that is needed at any given time and she does it with positivity and a calm assurance that makes her patients and staff confident in their ability to manage their responsibilities. Her compassion and positive attitude, combined with her outstanding organizational skills make her a tremendous servant leader on the unit, always upholding our value, One Team.
Recently we had a patient who delivered her baby by cesarean section, with complications that led to her transfer to WSSU for closer monitoring. She was improving, and successfully breastfeeding her baby. However, she was not cleared medically for discharge at the time her newborn was to be sent home. This would leave the baby's father alone with their 20-month-old toddler and the newborn while the mother remained hospitalized. With no family to assist, the patient sobbed and begged to be discharged with her baby in order to care for him and continue to breastfeed, stating that this was too much for the father to manage. Fowzia spent the entire afternoon making phone calls to physicians, Case Management, and her Clinical Director, all the while continuing to manage the needs of the rest of the unit. She was able to obtain permission to move the patient to a two-room suite. With the necessary waivers signed, and the baby's father accepting responsibility for the care of their toddler and newborn, mom was able to continue to breastfeed and bond with her baby. The entire family stayed together in the suite until the mother's anticipated discharge two days later.
Underneath a sign on WSSU entitled, "Patient Always", reads the following:
We work with compassion to ensure every action we take puts the patient and family first. We consider the patient and their family as a unit. We are family-centered! Fowzia's actions demonstrated that these are not mere words but a core value of WSSU for our patients and their families. This is just one of the hundreds of examples that have made Inova's Gynecology Services to be ranked #13 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.