December 2023
Kims
Plantin
,
BSN, RN
K4 ICU
Stanford Hospital and Clinics
Palo Alto
,
CA
United States
Kims was the only person who could have made this family’s experience as easy as possible. The family had mentioned multiple times how grateful they were for Kims’s care and said they would never forget all he had done for them.
To say Kims goes above and beyond is an understatement. Kims provided extraordinary and supportive care to one patient unlike anything I’ve seen before in all my years as a nurse. This young patient had a sudden, catastrophic injury that left her brain dead. In the events leading up to her terminal extubation, Kims juggled conversations with multiple teams involved in the patient’s care, coordinated and participated in the many family meetings that took place, and provided constant support to her family and friends. Multiple times, I found him hugging and comforting the patient’s mom and sister. When the patient’s fiancé arrived, the first thing he did was hug Kims. The day we terminally extubated the patient, Kims organized Child Life Services and a pediatric social worker to provide in-person support to the patient’s children. He ordered donuts and coffee to support the patient’s very large family, knowing they hadn’t eaten anything all day. He got a hold of a bereavement box from LPCH to provide hand and footprints of the patient for her children to take home. He coordinated a Spanish-speaking priest in-person on a Sunday to provide last rites and prayed with the family. Kims was the only person who could have made this family’s experience as easy as possible. The family had mentioned multiple times how grateful they were for Kims’s care and said they would never forget all he had done for them. Even when the family was not in the room, I still found Kims wiping the patient’s face, brushing her hair, and respecting her privacy and integrity as much as possible. He kept the room pristine, her bed linens fresh, and constantly updated the family on the next steps in her care. Witnessing Kims provide such holistic care for this patient was admirable and demonstrated a level of care I think we all aspire to reach.