My father, DKC, was brought into Mercy Muskegon ER unresponsive requiring intubation and ventilation, a series of labs/scans, placement of central and arterial lines, and eventual admission to the ICU where he unfortunately ended up passing. There were a series of nursing/medical staff involved in my father's care throughout that time period, but Amber was quite impressive from the start. Once my mom and I were brought into his ER room, Amber pulled up a chair, introduced herself and began explaining what had already been done and what we could expect to see. She spoke to my mom in terms that she could understand; and made sure that my mom really understood what was going on; and offered to listen/clarify. The empathy and compassion that Amber displayed were phenomenal and did not go unnoticed. I know in a busy world we can get caught up in the hustle and bustle of activities and tasks needing to be performed and we felt that she really went above and beyond to make sure that we were noticed and that we understood what was going on. In a crisis, it really is the simple, small things that count and just the fact that she acknowledged we were there and introduced herself and explained things along the way, really went far in our books. We definitely need more like her and were happy to see that she was training someone that night as well and hope that that nurse carries on in the same manner as Amber did.

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Amber is one of the most passionate nurses I have ever met, she regularly goes above and beyond when advocating for patients. She even offered to take students multiple days in a row and was patient enthusiastic and engaged when educating our future nurses. She actively seeks out opportunities for herself and her students and educates her coworkers.