Howard Kornbluth
October 2021
Howard
Kornbluth
,
RN
Pediatrics
St. Joseph's Children's Hospital
Tampa
,
FL
United States
Howard always took the time to go and say hello to this patient or offer to help the assigned nurse with her care.
Howard showed extraordinary kindness and empathy towards this patient and went above and beyond in patient care duties. This patient was originally admitted to the hospital in respiratory distress and ended up in the PICU where the patient remained for a few days. After much improvement, the patient was then transferred to our floor for several more days where the patient continued to improve. However, just when the patient was about to be discharged, the patient developed a complication that caused the hospital stay to be prolonged even further.
At the same time, the family had other obligations and was only able to be at the bedside periodically. The patient spent most of the time laying in the bed either watching TV or playing on the tablet. This patient was nonverbal and while the patient was well behaved and seemed content, it was obvious that the patient could use a little more stimulation and/or interaction with others. This is where nurses' thoughtfulness and ingenuity came into play.
Howard always took the time to go and say hello to this patient or offer to help the assigned nurse with her care. He did this even when the patient was not under direct care, and it was during one such interaction that an amazing revelation was discovered. While providing assistance, he "spoke" to the patient in American sign language. Immediately the patient's entire face lit up and the patient began responding back in American sign language!
The patient became so animated and had a huge smile! It was the most touching and heartwarming moment in my nursing career thus far and it's there wasn't a dry eye in the room at that moment. Although the patient had been in the hospital for several weeks at this point, it wasn't until this nurse's interaction, that the staff realized the patient had a special form of communication. The next day the staff informed the mother of what transpired, and she acknowledged that the patient was being taught American sign language in school. She hadn't realized how much the patient knew since she, herself, didn't know the language.
After hearing of her child's response and reaction to the nurse's kindness, the mother was greatly appreciative of this nurse's care. As a team member who works side by side with this nurse, I must say that it was an honor to have witnessed such a miracle occur right in front of me and we are very lucky to have this nurse as part of our nursing staff!
At the same time, the family had other obligations and was only able to be at the bedside periodically. The patient spent most of the time laying in the bed either watching TV or playing on the tablet. This patient was nonverbal and while the patient was well behaved and seemed content, it was obvious that the patient could use a little more stimulation and/or interaction with others. This is where nurses' thoughtfulness and ingenuity came into play.
Howard always took the time to go and say hello to this patient or offer to help the assigned nurse with her care. He did this even when the patient was not under direct care, and it was during one such interaction that an amazing revelation was discovered. While providing assistance, he "spoke" to the patient in American sign language. Immediately the patient's entire face lit up and the patient began responding back in American sign language!
The patient became so animated and had a huge smile! It was the most touching and heartwarming moment in my nursing career thus far and it's there wasn't a dry eye in the room at that moment. Although the patient had been in the hospital for several weeks at this point, it wasn't until this nurse's interaction, that the staff realized the patient had a special form of communication. The next day the staff informed the mother of what transpired, and she acknowledged that the patient was being taught American sign language in school. She hadn't realized how much the patient knew since she, herself, didn't know the language.
After hearing of her child's response and reaction to the nurse's kindness, the mother was greatly appreciative of this nurse's care. As a team member who works side by side with this nurse, I must say that it was an honor to have witnessed such a miracle occur right in front of me and we are very lucky to have this nurse as part of our nursing staff!