Jamie Bowhall
February 2021
Jamie
Bowhall
,
RN
Emergency Department
Banner Desert Medical Center
Jamie, thank you for making me feel safe and secure in your care. I knew I could trust you after the first few signs of attention.
I was recently on the other side of the healthcare system: as a patient and not a coworker. I don't know Jamie personally. I was the victim of a car accident where another driver ran a stop sign and plowed into my car, flipping me over, landing on the roof of my car. I was sent 28 miles to Banner Desert.
Jamie was my RN in the ED. She didn't know I was an employee; she just took care of me. I had memory loss, vertigo, speech trouble, limited hearing, and loud ringing in one ear, and much more. I could not remember common things like my mother's phone number, which I would normally know. I couldn't remember my phone number to the office that I worked in for the last 13 years at Banner, or what day it was. This was distressing me further. Jamie recognized my difficulty and put me at ease. She let me know it is normal to have these difficulties with the trauma I just had. She went step by step, telling me everything she was doing- starting fluids in the IV-line, the medication I was receiving, checking vitals, the O2 level, blood pressure, pulse, blankets because it was rather cold in there.
Even if she adjusted my bed, Jamie told me before she did it. She let me know what she was going to be doing when she left the room- this allowed me to not feel abandoned or alone. I knew where she was going and what she was doing and when to expect her back. I see even more now how this kind of attention means so much to patients. I was very much out of my mind that evening. She continued to treat me with such dignity and careful attention. She kept me sane that evening. She had an emergency contact number on file for me and asked first before making the call. Very smart to ask since that was for my ex-wife of 10 years! I think this is when I told her I was an employee and to contact my manager to access my emergency contacts in MyHR. The details are still foggy for me, but I know that contact was made, and a family member came to get me.
Jamie, thank you for making me feel safe and secure in your care. I knew I could trust you after the first few signs of attention. I know what you did isn't just because you are a Banner employee, but because of who you are as a person, as an RN, and as a first responder. Banner is darn lucky to have you as an asset.
Jamie was my RN in the ED. She didn't know I was an employee; she just took care of me. I had memory loss, vertigo, speech trouble, limited hearing, and loud ringing in one ear, and much more. I could not remember common things like my mother's phone number, which I would normally know. I couldn't remember my phone number to the office that I worked in for the last 13 years at Banner, or what day it was. This was distressing me further. Jamie recognized my difficulty and put me at ease. She let me know it is normal to have these difficulties with the trauma I just had. She went step by step, telling me everything she was doing- starting fluids in the IV-line, the medication I was receiving, checking vitals, the O2 level, blood pressure, pulse, blankets because it was rather cold in there.
Even if she adjusted my bed, Jamie told me before she did it. She let me know what she was going to be doing when she left the room- this allowed me to not feel abandoned or alone. I knew where she was going and what she was doing and when to expect her back. I see even more now how this kind of attention means so much to patients. I was very much out of my mind that evening. She continued to treat me with such dignity and careful attention. She kept me sane that evening. She had an emergency contact number on file for me and asked first before making the call. Very smart to ask since that was for my ex-wife of 10 years! I think this is when I told her I was an employee and to contact my manager to access my emergency contacts in MyHR. The details are still foggy for me, but I know that contact was made, and a family member came to get me.
Jamie, thank you for making me feel safe and secure in your care. I knew I could trust you after the first few signs of attention. I know what you did isn't just because you are a Banner employee, but because of who you are as a person, as an RN, and as a first responder. Banner is darn lucky to have you as an asset.