My brother was admitted to the 2IMC unit for a stroke. One specific nurse that took care of him named Malinda Hiatt was above exceptional. She had him for 2 days. The very first day Malinda had him she coordinated with speech, OT, PT, and the nutritionist to come see him. Since the stroke had caused my brother to not be able to speak, Malinda coordinated with speech to get him a communication board and she even printed out large letters so he could spell out words. Every time she would go to his room, she would spend all the time it took to let him try to tell her what he needed.
Melinda took the time to help him call us on FaceTime so we could see each other and while I was on the video with him he would get upset and frustrated trying to talk to me and I would observe Malinda calming him down. She would hold his hand and gently speak to him to ease his frustration. I could tell that my brother looked to Malinda for comfort and she gave it. She never once acted like it was a bother or that she was in a hurry to get out of the room. She was the first one to get him up in the chair, which greatly helped with him being anxious.
After his PEG tube placement, Malinda knew something was wrong because he started vomiting and his abdomen was distended. She was quick to realize he was bleeding in his stomach. She reassured him everything was okay because he was scared. She treated him as if he was her very own family.
When it came time to talk about discharge they were going to send him to a regular nursing home, but Malinda knew he needed to go to an LTAC. She fought for it; she spoke with the doctors, the facility, the care coordinator, our family, and even his insurance company. She recognized his need to be in a different level of care and she advocated for it. With the way things are with the COVID-19 situation as a family that is very hard on us, so Malinda made sure she kept in constant communication with us. It's so hard for the family and the patient to not be able to communicate with each other so the fact that Malinda kept in constant contact with us made the difference to us.
Malinda was kind, caring, compassionate, understanding, and outstanding as a nurse. She spent so much time with my brother, and she made him feel like he really mattered. He was so scared, confused, and alone and I truly believe she made all the difference in his care. I feel she truly represents what CarolinaEast stands for. My family thanks her for outstanding care and compassion while taking care of my brother.