I have worked at Union Hospital for 25 years and I have seen many instances of nurses showing tremendous empathy and concern for those we serve. I observed an extraordinary display of compassion, professionalism, composure, and talented care given to a critically ill patient and her family by Jessica Qunell.
The patient was an 88-year-old female who had just undergone an unsuccessful attempt at a lifesaving procedure. The patient arrived in PACU conscious, ventilated, hypoxic, and in cardiogenic shock requiring multiple infusions of vasopressors set at maximum doses. The nurse who received the report and cared for the patient was Jessica. Jess quickly assessed the patient, corrected the vasopressor rates, coordinated with Respiratory Therapy to provide optimal ventilatory support, recommended an immediate blood-gas to check acid-base status, and called for a stat chest x-ray.
Throughout this time Jess was comforting this dying woman. The blood pressure was rapidly falling, and the patient was "chemically coded". The family arrived in PACU and both Jess and Dr. G spoke directly, clearly, and kindly explaining that there was very little chance of survival. Jess helped the husband form his wheelchair and raised the bed so that he could kiss his wife one last time. The husband decided to "let her go" and Jess gently suggested to the husband and her son that they could go to the lobby for a few minutes. Jess assured them that they could come back to the bedside for as long as they wished.
The family returned to the bedside and sat with the deceased patient for about 30 minutes. Jess gracefully helped this family to be together in a respectful and dignified manner at a time of grief. Jessica Qunell demonstrated a level of care that combined superlative nursing expertise and exceptional humanity.