Sarah lives the mission every shift she works. She consistently leads with passion and does the right things for the right reasons, always keeping the patient at the center of her decisions. She is a positive role model in the department and respected by those she works with. Below is the story this nurse (and one of her co-workers) shared with me.
"A few weeks ago, we had a mom come in 36 weeks pregnant and had her sons with her 2-year-old and 4-year-old. Her husband was in Florida working and would not be done there for 8 more days so he was unable to come be with the kids. The patient had just moved here from New York and knew no one except the person they bought their house from. The patient also had a teenage son who was not here with her.
"The patient ended up needing to be transferred to Bergan for OB care. She had been here for heart related/palpitation type things. Long story short, she had no one to take her kids home. Her son was able to come home (he was at the TJ homecoming football game) but he could not drive the kids as he only had a permit. The one woman the patient knew could not come get the kids until after 9pm (this was all taking place at approx. 6/630pm). The patient was hopeful the kids could go with her to Bergan until the friend could come at 9pm, but as we suspected Midwest Medical said the kids could not come along. The kids had no car seats here.
"The mom arrived via CBFD and the kids came with her in the ambulance. We were down to no options except that the mom was thinking of placing them in foster care for the night. Midwest Medical was here to take her to Bergan and we were in limbo, so I offered to drive the kids home. I knew I had the right car seats and it saved this mom from having to either leave AMA or putting the kids in foster care for the night. It was a small thing I did for her but I think it helped her a lot. The kids loved it; I put on a movie for the 4-year-old in my van while I drove him to the west end to his home. Said a lot of prayers the god would get them home safely. The older son who was at the football game walked home to meet me. I was relieved that the teenage son was home when I got there. I was a little worried he wouldn't show and then what would I do. I called the mom's cell phone once the boys were safely home and with their older brother. She was very appreciative."
I believe this story tells the story of this nurse's heart. Every patient is seen as a person and each person she cares for is fortunate to have a nurse who practices from a holistic view. This is only one example; Sarah comes to work and does what she loves: taking care of people and going above and beyond as needed.
While Sarah is an expert with her nursing skills, she is extraordinary in the way she includes practicing nursing from the heart also.