Debby
Skolnick
April 2011
Debby
Skolnick
,
RN
med/surg
Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital
West Bloomfield
,
MI
United States
Left-right: Gerard van Grinsven, President & CEO; Debby Skolnick, RN;
Linda Fisher, Chief Nursing Officer
I nominate Debby Skolnick for the DAISY award. Over the last two years working with Debby, I have seen her demonstrate such tremendous compassion and empathy for her patients. Your first impression of Debby might be that she is rough and tough, but really she wears her heart on her sleeve for everyone to see, good or bad.
Periodically when I round with patients, I have always heard good things from Debby’s patients like “she is wonderful, very attentive to my needs.” Or “I love this one she’s a great nurse and takes such good care of me.” Debby can always find something to laugh about with her patients and on more than one occasion I have seen Debby cry with her patients. Two very distinct stories come to mind.
Debby was caring for a patient with pancreatic cancer who was going hospice. His family was all out of state, only his wife was here and she was unable to care for him at home. So with no options the patient was discharged to a nursing home to live out the rest of his days. This was a very emotional and heart wrenching situation. The bond Debby created with this family stretched to the point that Debby went to the nursing home on her days off to visit with the patient and his wife. This seemingly small gesture from Debby meant the world to this patient and his wife.
On a different occasion Debby was caring for a patient who has had cancer. This was a particularly difficult case because this patient had two teenage girls. Over the course of her hospital stay she and her family decided to enroll in hospice. The day this patient’s code status was changed Debby cried in the hallway. When I asked Debby if she needed a break from taking care of this patient she said no. She wanted to be there for this patient and her family until the end. A couple of weeks ago we saw this patient’s husband in the hospital; he called her by name and embraced her in a hug. He thanked her for taking such good care of his wife; he told her it meant so much to have her there to the end. This was almost a year after her death…. and Debby was just “doing her job”.
Debby’s assessment skills are impeccable. She consistently recognizes acute changes in her patients, which on multiple occasions have prevented code blues from occurring on the unit. She works diligently everyday to ensure her patients are receiving the best and most appropriated level of care. She has excellent rapport with our Hospitalists and Midlevel providers. The mutual respect and trust she has built with her team speaks volumes on our unit.
In many conversations with Debby she always says med/surg nursing is her passion. She loves it and that kind of passion for this type of nursing deserves to be recognized.
Linda Fisher, Chief Nursing Officer
I nominate Debby Skolnick for the DAISY award. Over the last two years working with Debby, I have seen her demonstrate such tremendous compassion and empathy for her patients. Your first impression of Debby might be that she is rough and tough, but really she wears her heart on her sleeve for everyone to see, good or bad.
Periodically when I round with patients, I have always heard good things from Debby’s patients like “she is wonderful, very attentive to my needs.” Or “I love this one she’s a great nurse and takes such good care of me.” Debby can always find something to laugh about with her patients and on more than one occasion I have seen Debby cry with her patients. Two very distinct stories come to mind.
Debby was caring for a patient with pancreatic cancer who was going hospice. His family was all out of state, only his wife was here and she was unable to care for him at home. So with no options the patient was discharged to a nursing home to live out the rest of his days. This was a very emotional and heart wrenching situation. The bond Debby created with this family stretched to the point that Debby went to the nursing home on her days off to visit with the patient and his wife. This seemingly small gesture from Debby meant the world to this patient and his wife.
On a different occasion Debby was caring for a patient who has had cancer. This was a particularly difficult case because this patient had two teenage girls. Over the course of her hospital stay she and her family decided to enroll in hospice. The day this patient’s code status was changed Debby cried in the hallway. When I asked Debby if she needed a break from taking care of this patient she said no. She wanted to be there for this patient and her family until the end. A couple of weeks ago we saw this patient’s husband in the hospital; he called her by name and embraced her in a hug. He thanked her for taking such good care of his wife; he told her it meant so much to have her there to the end. This was almost a year after her death…. and Debby was just “doing her job”.
Debby’s assessment skills are impeccable. She consistently recognizes acute changes in her patients, which on multiple occasions have prevented code blues from occurring on the unit. She works diligently everyday to ensure her patients are receiving the best and most appropriated level of care. She has excellent rapport with our Hospitalists and Midlevel providers. The mutual respect and trust she has built with her team speaks volumes on our unit.
In many conversations with Debby she always says med/surg nursing is her passion. She loves it and that kind of passion for this type of nursing deserves to be recognized.