Brittany McGinly
October 2020
Brittany
Mcginly
,
BSN, RN
ICU/PCU
Abington Lansdale Hospital Jefferson Health
I watch Brittany spend just about an hour in that room, not rushing the patient, and holding the iPad up because they were not able to do it for themself.
I would like to nominate Brittany for the compassion and diligence she displayed while caring for a patient we recently had on our unit. Currently, we are in an extremely difficult time with the COVID-19 pandemic and not only is it challenging and exhausting to care for these patients, but one of the hardest things to deal with is watching patients go through this alone. They are isolated and scared, away from their loved ones while they are going through one of the most difficult times in their life, fighting to stay alive. Day in and out we watch these patients suffer, decline and even pass away while not having the chance to see their loved ones one last time.
On this particular day, Brittany told me that this patient had mentioned to her that all they wanted to do was to see their family and die. Brittany knew the patient was ready and wanted to grant this patient their one last request. I watched Brittany go above and beyond for that patient working with social work and the patient's family endlessly to get the hospital iPad Zoom feature to work. There were many times where she had approached roadblocks and could have just easily have given up, but she reached out to numerous hospital resources to get it up and working.
Finally, when Brittany was able to get the Zoom feature to work, she donned all of her personal protective equipment including her tight-fitting N95 mask, face shield, gloves, and plastic gown, and entered the room with the patient's family connected on the iPad via Zoom. I watch Brittany spend just about an hour in that room, not rushing the patient, and holding the iPad up because they were not able to do it for themself. The patient was able to see all of their family one last time and actually spend time with them, thanks to Brittany's patience and dedication.
Brittany came out of that room covered in sweat that had built up under the gown and face shield and marks all over her face after all that time in that room. She explained how hard it was to not be able to wipe the tears from her own eyes while watching the family on the iPad screen as they said their last goodbyes. Shortly after this experience, the patient passed away. I strongly believe that the patient was finally settled and felt comfortable enough to pass away as peacefully as possible because Brittany allowed her to see her family that one last time.
On this particular day, Brittany told me that this patient had mentioned to her that all they wanted to do was to see their family and die. Brittany knew the patient was ready and wanted to grant this patient their one last request. I watched Brittany go above and beyond for that patient working with social work and the patient's family endlessly to get the hospital iPad Zoom feature to work. There were many times where she had approached roadblocks and could have just easily have given up, but she reached out to numerous hospital resources to get it up and working.
Finally, when Brittany was able to get the Zoom feature to work, she donned all of her personal protective equipment including her tight-fitting N95 mask, face shield, gloves, and plastic gown, and entered the room with the patient's family connected on the iPad via Zoom. I watch Brittany spend just about an hour in that room, not rushing the patient, and holding the iPad up because they were not able to do it for themself. The patient was able to see all of their family one last time and actually spend time with them, thanks to Brittany's patience and dedication.
Brittany came out of that room covered in sweat that had built up under the gown and face shield and marks all over her face after all that time in that room. She explained how hard it was to not be able to wipe the tears from her own eyes while watching the family on the iPad screen as they said their last goodbyes. Shortly after this experience, the patient passed away. I strongly believe that the patient was finally settled and felt comfortable enough to pass away as peacefully as possible because Brittany allowed her to see her family that one last time.