March 2010
Amelia
Silkworth
,
RN, BSN
VIP Float Pool
Bronson Methodist Hospital
Schoolcraft
,
MI
Amelia Silkworth (Cath Lab)
On Thursday, March 11, my husband, Ken was admitted for a cardiac catherization due to an abnormal stress test. Ken has a positive family history for heart disease and this significantly added to our anxiety.
We reside just a few miles south of Grand Rapids having moved from Allegan nearly eleven years ago. I spent the first few years of my nursing career at Allegan General Hospital with the last nine years as Vice President of Nursing. We have tremendous appreciation for the AGH nursing and medical professionals and despite moving away several years ago, we never sought a new physician in Grand Rapids. Thus when Ken met with Dr. Pawlick following the abnormal stress test, we scheduled the cath at Bronson. It is also interesting to note that I am employed with Spectrum Health as the Executive Director for Hospice and Palliative Care.
From the moment Amelia introduced herself, we experienced “Bronson positivity.” Once Ken was in the appropriate gown and lying in the hospital bed, Amelia pulled up a chair and engaged him in conversation about his health history and understanding of today’s procedure. She also carefully reviewed the hospital’s patient safety measures encouraging him to ask questions for anything that he may not understand during his stay. When she learned that he had a mini-farm and loved caring for our cows, horses, chickens and turkeys, she focused on what he enjoyed since retirement and I watched him become more relaxed. She also engaged me in conversation to ensure I understood the procedure and made sure my questions were answered. She was warm, professional, caring and reassuring.
We also want to acknowledge the entire cardiac cath lab team. Everyone was absolutely caring and kind. We were delighted (and tremendously relieved) to learn that the cath was 100% normal. Amelia and the team continued to monitor Ken throughout the recovery process and when it was time to review discharge instructions, she again pulled up a chair, sat down and carefully reviewed the instructions assuring that he knew what to watch for in terms of complications and what to do should a complication occur.
At Spectrum Health we are committed to providing “exceptional experiences” for our patients and families. Amelia provided both Ken and I an EXCEPTION EXPERIENCE. She went above and beyond and we believe she is most deserving of a DAISY award.
Nominated by: Ken & Sylvia Simons
On Thursday, March 11, my husband, Ken was admitted for a cardiac catherization due to an abnormal stress test. Ken has a positive family history for heart disease and this significantly added to our anxiety.
We reside just a few miles south of Grand Rapids having moved from Allegan nearly eleven years ago. I spent the first few years of my nursing career at Allegan General Hospital with the last nine years as Vice President of Nursing. We have tremendous appreciation for the AGH nursing and medical professionals and despite moving away several years ago, we never sought a new physician in Grand Rapids. Thus when Ken met with Dr. Pawlick following the abnormal stress test, we scheduled the cath at Bronson. It is also interesting to note that I am employed with Spectrum Health as the Executive Director for Hospice and Palliative Care.
From the moment Amelia introduced herself, we experienced “Bronson positivity.” Once Ken was in the appropriate gown and lying in the hospital bed, Amelia pulled up a chair and engaged him in conversation about his health history and understanding of today’s procedure. She also carefully reviewed the hospital’s patient safety measures encouraging him to ask questions for anything that he may not understand during his stay. When she learned that he had a mini-farm and loved caring for our cows, horses, chickens and turkeys, she focused on what he enjoyed since retirement and I watched him become more relaxed. She also engaged me in conversation to ensure I understood the procedure and made sure my questions were answered. She was warm, professional, caring and reassuring.
We also want to acknowledge the entire cardiac cath lab team. Everyone was absolutely caring and kind. We were delighted (and tremendously relieved) to learn that the cath was 100% normal. Amelia and the team continued to monitor Ken throughout the recovery process and when it was time to review discharge instructions, she again pulled up a chair, sat down and carefully reviewed the instructions assuring that he knew what to watch for in terms of complications and what to do should a complication occur.
At Spectrum Health we are committed to providing “exceptional experiences” for our patients and families. Amelia provided both Ken and I an EXCEPTION EXPERIENCE. She went above and beyond and we believe she is most deserving of a DAISY award.
Nominated by: Ken & Sylvia Simons