December 2022
Abby
Martinez
,
RN
Yavapai
Northern Arizona Healthcare - Verde Valley Medical Center
Cottonwood
,
AZ
United States
Abby took the time to show kindness and compassion to our patient and her husband.
Abby was the charge nurse on the Yavapai Unit. She supported her team to manage several admissions at the start of the shift. One of the admissions was a woman who sustained a sudden brain bleed at home and had been placed on comfort care in the ED. She arrived on the Yavapai unit and, while the primary nurse cared for this patient, Abby took the time to care for the patient’s husband. She talked with him on the phone for an extended amount of time during the busiest part of the shift without rushing him or making him feel like she didn’t have the time. She helped him to understand what was going on with his wife and helped to prepare him for her death. He chose not to be at the bedside during his wife’s dying process so Abby found alternate ways to help him say goodbye. Abby brought the phone into the room and allowed the husband to talk with his wife even though she was nonresponsive. She died shortly after that phone call. Abby took the time to show kindness and compassion to our patient and her husband. She created a memory that won’t be forgotten and gave someone whom she never met in person an incredible gift.