I'm proud to say that Nancy is my moral compass. She provides compassionate care to every patient with whom she interacts. Yesterday, she spent extra time with a patient who was starting a new regimen to manage the open wound on his abdomen. The previous treatment was a wound vac since his GI cancer surgery 2 months ago. He was ready for this external wound to heal so he could start the next chapter of his life. She sat with the patient and his wife, to ensure they understood the new regimen, demonstrated then allowed them to return to demonstrate the new regimen. She supplied them with a goodie bag with supplies to cover the next few days.

Once the patient left, she took out the trash and put a new trash bag in the room since chronic wound vac wounds are odorous. Her thoughtful compassionate care ensured dignity for this patient and for the patients that would be utilizing the room the rest of the day. It should be noted that the trash bags came from a stash she received from the 2nd shift environmental services staff for just these occasions. This is Nancy, always planning and thinking ahead to mitigate issues before they become an issue.

Then Nancy reached out to his VNA to discuss the updated wound care orders. This involved multiple communications via phone and fax with the VNA to ensure the patient was receiving the appropriate wound care regimen.


Special Connection:
Nancy makes a special connection with so many patients she interacts with. She meets her patients where they are physically and emotionally then helps to humanize their situation so they are ready to deal with the issue in a supportive environment. You can often hear her and her patients laughing and sharing personal stories about their life adventures, gardening, skiing, or any outdoor activities while providing pre/post-procedure wound care or dressing changes. Her personal touch helps the patient connect with her on another level.

While Nancy was working the with patient previously mentioned, I heard laughter from the patient, his wife and Nancy. When Nancy walked out of the room to get more supplies, giggling she said, "We are having such a good time in there." These connections are vital to the emotional and physical success of our patients.


Significant Difference:
The first patient that comes to mind that Nancy made a significant difference in their life was a patient who presented as a new patient over 3 years ago with a tennis ball-sized Basal cell carcinoma on her forehead. She canceled her surgery at least 5 times due to her anxiety regarding the procedure and recovery from the procedure. During these 3 years the mass grew significantly and started to erode the periosteum. Nancy had this patient sign a written contract to help encourage her to proceed with the scheduled surgery. The patient did cancel the surgery at that time but did end up having the surgery this year.

Nancy met her in the pre-op area to keep her company, visited her in the PACU, and visited her while she was admitted for her 23-hour stay post-op. We did not require a 23-hour stay post op but she was unable to find a ride home after receiving general anesthesia. She did not tell her niece or friends about this forehead growth, she changed her hairstyle to cover as long as she could then isolated herself. During the post op visit, the patient voiced that she only proceeded with the procedure because of the support she received from our team. The patient has no evidence of disease at this time and healed nicely without any complications that she feared.