May 2021
Christine
Huston
,
RN
VNA Health Group Holmdel
VNA Health Group
Holmdel
United States
Christine will not only emphatically embrace the most challenging of patient cases but will provide patient-centered and compassionate care to every single individual she comes into contact with.
Christine Huston, RN is a shining example of all the attributes that would be considered of an excellent nurse and she unconsciously implements them daily in the care that she provides to our patients here at VNAHG. She is one of our preceptors here in Monmouth county hospice, so naturally, we would assume that she shares skills and knowledge with colleagues and students regularly, however, she often goes above and beyond for her team. She is always available to help a colleague, regardless of time or day or her own daily work duties. In fact, it is not uncommon to find her discussing a nurse’s concern over the phone late at night as she is always available to address a colleague’s concerns or to offer support. Furthermore, you will often find her on a joint visit with a fellow nurse to assist in addressing a patient concern, teaching a skill, or providing team support on a high acuity case. Yet, Christine goes one step further to take care of her team members as she was discovered this past year taking soup to a sick nurse amid the beginnings of a global pandemic as well as sought out assistance for an HHA who was struggling financially over the past year.
She is truly a compassionate nurse leader. However, it is the compassionate patient care that Christine provides that truly makes her a DAISY Nurse. There are numerous occasions over the past year that reflect how Christine will not only emphatically embrace the most challenging of patient cases but will provide patient-centered and compassionate care to every single individual she comes into contact with. One example of this was when she arrived at a home of a patient who was identified as unsafe to remain at home by himself as a result of no caregiver and living in significantly less than ideal living conditions, the kind you warrant an APS referral, a harsh environment for any staff member to remain in. Yet, she stayed without complaint or question until the patient was safely transferred to the hospital to ensure the patient’s needs were to be met. During this time, the social worker on the case witnessed the way Christine embraced a patient with nothing but compassion and dignity in the way she offered to assist the couch-bound patient with getting some water, assisting him to get cleaned up, and packing an overnight back to ensure he had all he needed for his transfer back to the hospital.
Christine not only provides compassionate holistic care on a daily basis to her patients but also their families, which is a very important aspect of hospice care. One example of this was the way she was able to diffuse a tense and difficult situation with a very young granddaughter of one of our patients, who was having a difficult time with complicated grief that was presenting as anger towards any and everyone; a situation that by human nature would make anyone uncomfortable. However, being who Christine is, she was able to not only able to lessen the tension with the granddaughter to allow her to focus on getting her grandmother the hospice care she needed but she built a rapport and trust with this granddaughter. She accomplished all of this with simple communication as she told the granddaughter it would all be all right because she was wearing her bright neon pink rain boots and that Christine was there to help with the rest. Now, take a minute to imagine the relief that washed over this granddaughter’s face once I was told Christine was able to get a smile out of her.
While, yet another colleague of Christine’s reports observing her on a pediatric case in which it was reported that throughout the entire time this patient was receiving our services, Christine was an incredible support for the family but was noted to have made 3 long visits on the last day of this young man’s life to provide the strength and support for this family, particularly his mother. She ensured that she was the one to pronounce this patient, even though it was 11:30 pm and far beyond her regular working hours. She was then noted to provide the utmost compassionate and dignified post mortem care hand in hand with this patient’s mother in order to prepare the family to say a final goodbye. Christine Huston, RN epitomizes the nurse that The DAISY Award was created for.
She is truly a compassionate nurse leader. However, it is the compassionate patient care that Christine provides that truly makes her a DAISY Nurse. There are numerous occasions over the past year that reflect how Christine will not only emphatically embrace the most challenging of patient cases but will provide patient-centered and compassionate care to every single individual she comes into contact with. One example of this was when she arrived at a home of a patient who was identified as unsafe to remain at home by himself as a result of no caregiver and living in significantly less than ideal living conditions, the kind you warrant an APS referral, a harsh environment for any staff member to remain in. Yet, she stayed without complaint or question until the patient was safely transferred to the hospital to ensure the patient’s needs were to be met. During this time, the social worker on the case witnessed the way Christine embraced a patient with nothing but compassion and dignity in the way she offered to assist the couch-bound patient with getting some water, assisting him to get cleaned up, and packing an overnight back to ensure he had all he needed for his transfer back to the hospital.
Christine not only provides compassionate holistic care on a daily basis to her patients but also their families, which is a very important aspect of hospice care. One example of this was the way she was able to diffuse a tense and difficult situation with a very young granddaughter of one of our patients, who was having a difficult time with complicated grief that was presenting as anger towards any and everyone; a situation that by human nature would make anyone uncomfortable. However, being who Christine is, she was able to not only able to lessen the tension with the granddaughter to allow her to focus on getting her grandmother the hospice care she needed but she built a rapport and trust with this granddaughter. She accomplished all of this with simple communication as she told the granddaughter it would all be all right because she was wearing her bright neon pink rain boots and that Christine was there to help with the rest. Now, take a minute to imagine the relief that washed over this granddaughter’s face once I was told Christine was able to get a smile out of her.
While, yet another colleague of Christine’s reports observing her on a pediatric case in which it was reported that throughout the entire time this patient was receiving our services, Christine was an incredible support for the family but was noted to have made 3 long visits on the last day of this young man’s life to provide the strength and support for this family, particularly his mother. She ensured that she was the one to pronounce this patient, even though it was 11:30 pm and far beyond her regular working hours. She was then noted to provide the utmost compassionate and dignified post mortem care hand in hand with this patient’s mother in order to prepare the family to say a final goodbye. Christine Huston, RN epitomizes the nurse that The DAISY Award was created for.