Annette Hagwood
September 2019
Annette
Hagwood
,
RN
2 Cardiac Specialty Unit
Sentara Obici Hospital
Suffolk
,
VA
United States

 

 

 

There was a patient admitted to the hospital who became upset that he had been in the hospital for several days and that his family did not know he was in the hospital, so he had had no visitors at all. Multiple attempts had been made by providers and integrated care management staff to locate the patient's family or next of kin. Legal guardianship processes had been initiated. The patient was confused and disoriented much of the time but spoke often about wishing he could see his brother. He offered the brother's name and that he lived somewhere in North Carolina. The patient was not able to provide any additional information. Annette went above and beyond for this patient. Seeing that he was discouraged and depressed, she began investigating and working to find his family. She took the time to call the skilled nursing facility herself to see if they had any contact numbers for family or had any insight that might provide a clue. Annette called all of the numbers they provided, but no leads developed. She then began to search the internet and the white pages and searched for the brother. Eventually, she was able to locate the brother in North Carolina. She was also able to connect with a son who was living in Connecticut. Annette reached out to the brother, who visited the next day. Not only did this brighten the patient's day and give him hope and encouragement, but it also helped the care team in their efforts to meet the patient's needs upon discharge. Annette took the time to really listen to the patient and then went above and beyond to make his wish come true!