November 2013
6th Floor
Nurses
,
RN
6th Floor
University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center
Towson
,
MD
United States
On the 6th floor we currently have a "resident" who I will refer lovingly to as "Ms. Dot" who has been with us for an extended period of time. She came to us after a concerned friend felt she was having difficulty caring for herself. Ms. Dot is 86, who lives alone and has no family whatsoever, was being looked after by a friend in the apartment complex. He was worried because she was losing weight and had fallen. She was admitted to us status post fall and back pain. Ms. Dot was confused, disoriented, tended to wander, and could become agitated. Ms. Dot has now become a "resident" of the 6th floor.
While Ms. Dot has been here, I witnessed a very beautiful, overtly loving and caring transformation in many of my staff. As Ms. Dot gets only one regular visitor from the outside, my unit has adopted her. She routinely has flowers, cookies and other goodies, presented to her by many of the staff. They stop in to see her every day and chat with her. Several of the staff have purchased clothing for her. She now has warm cozy pajamas and robe and slippers, and several nice casual outfits to wear around the unit. Someone is doing her laundry as well. She has staff who "sit" with her 24 hrs./day, as she tends to wander and is easily confused. They take her for walks around the unit, to the Japanese garden, the cafeteria, and the gift shop. Staff shows genuine concern for her, as they have grown very attached to this little old lady who came to us as a patient but soon became part of our unit family.
Ms. Dot will soon be leaving us as part of the 6th floor family. Staff worry she will become scared and confused, that she will go through withdrawal, give up and just die because she has been removed from what right now has become her home. They fear no one else will take care of her and love her the way "we" did. I worry for my staff, myself included, that when Ms. Dot, leaves us for a long term care facility, that we will grieve for her and miss her.
With all of the care and kindness that my staff has shown Ms. Dot, going above and beyond the expectations of the staff/patient relationship, I nominate the 6th floor staff as a whole. I am very proud of them and the wonderful hearts they have to have taken this woman in and cared and loved her as part of their own family.
While Ms. Dot has been here, I witnessed a very beautiful, overtly loving and caring transformation in many of my staff. As Ms. Dot gets only one regular visitor from the outside, my unit has adopted her. She routinely has flowers, cookies and other goodies, presented to her by many of the staff. They stop in to see her every day and chat with her. Several of the staff have purchased clothing for her. She now has warm cozy pajamas and robe and slippers, and several nice casual outfits to wear around the unit. Someone is doing her laundry as well. She has staff who "sit" with her 24 hrs./day, as she tends to wander and is easily confused. They take her for walks around the unit, to the Japanese garden, the cafeteria, and the gift shop. Staff shows genuine concern for her, as they have grown very attached to this little old lady who came to us as a patient but soon became part of our unit family.
Ms. Dot will soon be leaving us as part of the 6th floor family. Staff worry she will become scared and confused, that she will go through withdrawal, give up and just die because she has been removed from what right now has become her home. They fear no one else will take care of her and love her the way "we" did. I worry for my staff, myself included, that when Ms. Dot, leaves us for a long term care facility, that we will grieve for her and miss her.
With all of the care and kindness that my staff has shown Ms. Dot, going above and beyond the expectations of the staff/patient relationship, I nominate the 6th floor staff as a whole. I am very proud of them and the wonderful hearts they have to have taken this woman in and cared and loved her as part of their own family.