Nichaela Fiorenza
October 2020
Nichaela
Fiorenza
,
BSN, RN
Critical Care Unit
SwedishAmerican Hospital
Rockford
,
IL
United States

 

 

 

Nichaela coordinated a very special send-off for one of the CCU patients as she transferred out of the unit. The patient had been very sick, requiring many intensive treatments over the course of her three week stay in CCU. Her prognosis was very grim for a while, so her recovery to the point of being able to transfer was very exciting and rewarding for the staff. Nichaela and the other nurses she was working with bought several balloons and wrote inspiring messages on them like "CCU Champ", "Graduate", and "You've Got This". They lined the halls with these balloons and handed them off to the patient as she made her way down the hall. Nichaela and the other nurses also coordinated all the staff to gather down the hall and cheer the patient on. They played Janet Jackson's song "Together Again" for this patient's graduation walk. Nichaela also had staff members write notes of encouragement in a journal she bought and gave the patient an angel figurine because the patient told Nichaela we were her angels who saved her life.