We recently had a young woman in our ICU as a patient. She was here under some pretty devastating circumstances that led to around a 70 day length of stay in the hospital. During that time she had been on the ventilator via tracheostomy and had to have a peg tube placed as well. On top of the physical obstacles she was facing there also came some mental struggles as she was in her thirties and was now contained to a hospital bed.

During those 70-ish days, there were countless people who played a role in her care. But of all of those people, someone who stands out from the ICU is Judy Smith. Judy has been a nurse here for 20 years so she has seen a lot. Judy recognized immediately that if this patient was going to get better she would have to put in some work. Judy was persistent and consistent with the fact that the patient needed to be an active member of her own care. Judy made sure that during the day the blinds were open and the patient could see the sunlight. She also enforced the need for the patient to help herself as much as possible even having her brush her own teeth. Others might not truly understand the importance of promoting independence with ADLs but in this case, it made all the difference. When the patient wanted to give up on certain therapies and exercises Judy was there to hold her accountable and coach her through.

Our Intensivist, as well as our Case Manager, credit Judy and her nursing excellence for this particular patient eventually improving enough to be discharged from the hospital. I am thankful to have nurses like Judy in our organization!