A patient with severe PTSD was admitted to Main 10E and had been there for a few weeks. Immediately prior to his admission, his mother had passed away. Adding to his stress, the patient was evicted from his apartment, while he was in the hospital. Fortunately for him, his nurse that day was Gloria Pignatore.
Gloria recognized that the patient was totally disconnected from his family and friends. He had been brought into the hospital by EMS and did not have any of his belongings from home. His family lived out of state and he did not know their numbers.
Gloria initiated a plan to reconnect the patient with his family. She stayed 2 hours past the end of her shift to do just that. She brought a computer into the patient's room, sat down with him, and proceeded to help him find his family members and friends on Facebook. For each one, she helped him send a message of his situation, his location, and the room phone number so that they might call him. Gloria was calm and provided an opportunity for him to vent his frustrations and get everything off his chest. This made a huge difference and helped him decompress. By the end of the evening, family members had started to call.
Gloria's dedication to the whole of this patient's condition (physical, mental, and emotional) was truly extraordinary and shows that she is a true DAISY Nurse.