Anne Wilkins
October 2018
Anne
Wilkins
,
RN, BSN
10 Thomas Transplant
Methodist University Hospital
Memphis
,
TN
United States
Recently, security officers were notified that a patient family was flying in from out of town and wanted to view the body of their beloved. The daughter had not seen her father in a while. The father died on the 4th floor and had to go to the morgue after 3-4 hours. The family was more than a few hours away.
The family arrived on site with security and an urgent need to have the body seen and have a room so the family, after long hours of travel, could see their father and have closure.
Multiple people were asked but Anne Wilkins agreed to have the patient come to 10 East, a closed room. Security promptly brought the body identified from the morgue to 1032 East where Anne Wilkins and a staff nurse went into action so that the family would not be delayed. Anne Wilkins and a staff member cleaned the body up that was covered with blood and secretion so that the body would be presentable to this exhausted family. Anne ensured that there were chairs for the family to sit and Kleenex if needed so that their viewing could be uninterrupted.
The body was prepared and additional secretions cleaned up. The team ensured that the body was wrapped in blankets so that the patient's body would not have a cold appearance to the family. The family was escorted straight up so they would not experience any delay. The daughter and her spouse and friends had final closure with their beloved father. The family mourned and visited for several minutes to say their "goodbyes" and have closure after the unexpected death of the father. The family stopped and expressed their deepest appreciation "for the extra trouble and time" that it took to move him to the morgue and to a private room for their privacy.
The group expressed their sympathy to the family and friends. A chaplain was offered but the son-in-law said he was a pastor and they did not want one but because of their distress, the group prayed with the family to assist in bringing emotional and spiritual support and helping the family find closure based on their Christian stated faith. You had to be there to see these quiet humble associates interact with such compassion and caring -you never know what superheroes are until you see them in action. Moments like these are the power of one and the power of a team who went above and beyond.
The family arrived on site with security and an urgent need to have the body seen and have a room so the family, after long hours of travel, could see their father and have closure.
Multiple people were asked but Anne Wilkins agreed to have the patient come to 10 East, a closed room. Security promptly brought the body identified from the morgue to 1032 East where Anne Wilkins and a staff nurse went into action so that the family would not be delayed. Anne Wilkins and a staff member cleaned the body up that was covered with blood and secretion so that the body would be presentable to this exhausted family. Anne ensured that there were chairs for the family to sit and Kleenex if needed so that their viewing could be uninterrupted.
The body was prepared and additional secretions cleaned up. The team ensured that the body was wrapped in blankets so that the patient's body would not have a cold appearance to the family. The family was escorted straight up so they would not experience any delay. The daughter and her spouse and friends had final closure with their beloved father. The family mourned and visited for several minutes to say their "goodbyes" and have closure after the unexpected death of the father. The family stopped and expressed their deepest appreciation "for the extra trouble and time" that it took to move him to the morgue and to a private room for their privacy.
The group expressed their sympathy to the family and friends. A chaplain was offered but the son-in-law said he was a pastor and they did not want one but because of their distress, the group prayed with the family to assist in bringing emotional and spiritual support and helping the family find closure based on their Christian stated faith. You had to be there to see these quiet humble associates interact with such compassion and caring -you never know what superheroes are until you see them in action. Moments like these are the power of one and the power of a team who went above and beyond.