August 2021
Alicia
Studer
,
RN
Transitional Care Unit TCC
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati
,
OH
United States
Hospitals can be really lonely places for a family, but in Alicia, we knew we had an amazing nurse caring for our daughter and a special friend for our family.
There will never be adequate words to describe Alicia's impact on our family. She welcomed our Baby to the TCC and immediately made us feel comfortable and at home with the transition. Our journey has been complicated with lots of transfers and we were dreading a move to the TCC because it meant all new everything. New nurses, new doctors, new care team. But, literally after one afternoon in the TCC with Alicia as our nurse, those fears were gone. She sensed our unease with the transfer and did everything in her power to help us adjust.
We quickly developed a friendship with her that we will forever cherish. On top of that, we saw right away how she cared for our daughter. It's the best feeling when you walk into the hospital room and the nurse is cuddling your baby, interacting with her, and giving her the attention that we wished we could always be doing. Alicia loved our daughter like she was her own and that stood out in how she cared for her, quickly learned her quirks, and then advocated for her on the floor and during rounds. That impact will always standout to us. The special connection started on the first afternoon we spent in the TCC.
Alicia advocated to the charge nurse that we really liked the consistency in our daughter's care. We already knew that we wanted her to be our primary nurse and the genuine excitement she expressed when we asked meant a lot. Hospitals can be really lonely places for a family, but in Alicia, we knew we had an amazing nurse caring for our daughter and a special friend for our family. Education runs through Alicia's veins. She was always eager to teach, lead, demonstrate, and help us learn as we prepared to discharge from the hospital. As soon as we expressed a desire to be more involved in the care and start doing things like running the feeds or giving meds, she was quick to help us learn and provide valuable insights from her own experience. We were able to finish our education in record time because she was the one helping us through it. Her excitement for us as we became more and more comfortable was really encouraging as well.
For me, a moment that stood out was my 24-hour stay prior to discharge. I was nervous about the stay just due to the sheer nature of being the one "in charge". Thankfully, Alicia was the nurse that day (maybe a little intentional planning went into picking my date for the stay...maybe!) as soon as I got there, my nerves disappeared. Alicia set me up with a color-coded med sheet/schedule that had everything I would need to know labeled and marked. She was so patient with me as I asked questions and got settled in as well. And then, before she left at the end of her shift, she made sure I had blankets and pillows for the night. She's a rockstar. The whole purpose of our transfer to the TCC was to make it to discharge. So from the start, Alicia was really helpful at answering questions and giving us an idea of what the long-term picture would look like. While that helped us wrap our minds around the next leg of the journey, she also helped us with a day-to-day care plan. The coolest part was how she empowered us to take control of our daughter's care. She gave us options and flexibility to make decisions and switch things up if we thought it was necessary. Alicia was/is the best. We are forever grateful that she was the nurse who welcomed us to the TCC.
We quickly developed a friendship with her that we will forever cherish. On top of that, we saw right away how she cared for our daughter. It's the best feeling when you walk into the hospital room and the nurse is cuddling your baby, interacting with her, and giving her the attention that we wished we could always be doing. Alicia loved our daughter like she was her own and that stood out in how she cared for her, quickly learned her quirks, and then advocated for her on the floor and during rounds. That impact will always standout to us. The special connection started on the first afternoon we spent in the TCC.
Alicia advocated to the charge nurse that we really liked the consistency in our daughter's care. We already knew that we wanted her to be our primary nurse and the genuine excitement she expressed when we asked meant a lot. Hospitals can be really lonely places for a family, but in Alicia, we knew we had an amazing nurse caring for our daughter and a special friend for our family. Education runs through Alicia's veins. She was always eager to teach, lead, demonstrate, and help us learn as we prepared to discharge from the hospital. As soon as we expressed a desire to be more involved in the care and start doing things like running the feeds or giving meds, she was quick to help us learn and provide valuable insights from her own experience. We were able to finish our education in record time because she was the one helping us through it. Her excitement for us as we became more and more comfortable was really encouraging as well.
For me, a moment that stood out was my 24-hour stay prior to discharge. I was nervous about the stay just due to the sheer nature of being the one "in charge". Thankfully, Alicia was the nurse that day (maybe a little intentional planning went into picking my date for the stay...maybe!) as soon as I got there, my nerves disappeared. Alicia set me up with a color-coded med sheet/schedule that had everything I would need to know labeled and marked. She was so patient with me as I asked questions and got settled in as well. And then, before she left at the end of her shift, she made sure I had blankets and pillows for the night. She's a rockstar. The whole purpose of our transfer to the TCC was to make it to discharge. So from the start, Alicia was really helpful at answering questions and giving us an idea of what the long-term picture would look like. While that helped us wrap our minds around the next leg of the journey, she also helped us with a day-to-day care plan. The coolest part was how she empowered us to take control of our daughter's care. She gave us options and flexibility to make decisions and switch things up if we thought it was necessary. Alicia was/is the best. We are forever grateful that she was the nurse who welcomed us to the TCC.