A patient who was discharged from PCU took the time to fill out a Press Ganey survey after receiving it in the mail. This patient left a comment simply saying, "please call me". I dialed the phone and an elderly gentleman answered, greeting me with a winded sounding "hello". I introduced myself and let him know I was following up on his request for a call from the survey he filled out. He paused for a moment, then said, "I just didn't know how to put this in words" and after another short pause he choked up and started to cry. A few seconds later, after he was able to speak, he went on to let me know the "staff at PeaceHealth are fantastic people. From the RNs to food service, I have never been treated so well in my entire life." His voice quivered as he continued to let me know how the staff treated him with respect and compassion, and everybody who entered his room was amazing. He also told me he had lots of questions and everyone was very patient with him, gladly answered his questions, and gave him the best care he could imagine.
This patient did call out one RN in particular, who cared for him over several nights, Olena Sherrell. He couldn't say enough about how amazing and compassionate she was, and how much he really appreciated the care she provided. He did not give me any specific examples, but I could tell just by the tone of his voice the care Olena provided was profoundly meaningful and significant to him.
Just about 2 weeks later we received a phone call from the son of this same patient. The son wanted to ensure that recognition was given to all our staff, but especially to his dad's favorite nurse, Olena. His dad had been discharged on Hospice and was able to spend his last week surrounded by loved ones and passed away peacefully in the security of his own home. Going on hospice care was not an easy decision for his dad to make, and he let his son know Olena helped him through this process and made him feel more comfortable with his decision. He went on to say when his dad had discharged from the hospital Olena was all he talked about. The patient had said that Olena showed him compassion and kindness that he had never experienced before, and that it made such an impact on the way his dad spent the last week of his life. He explained that he was speechless to discover that Olena sat with his father for two hours after one of her shifts. Olena knew his dad was struggling with anxiety around the decisions he had to make, and she helped him through by simply staying with him and holding his hand to provide him comfort.
The son told us his father did not know much kindness in his life, and he knew he needed to make sure someone was made aware of the kindness that Olena shared with him. As he was ready to hang up, he had asked if there was an award for this type of service. Denise explained The DAISY Award to him, he said: "please nominate her for this award on my behalf, we just want her to know how much we appreciated how she took care of my dad".