I am one of the Wound RNs at TMH.  A consult was put in for a patient with hand wounds.  This patient has had a difficult life, he has many mental health issues that he has not received treatment for.  His hand wounds are a result of him biting his fingers and hands, they are self-inflicted.  He has no fingernails on any of his fingers as he has chewed them off completely.  He has numerous open wounds on all his fingers, palms, and the back of his hands.  He stated that he cannot help himself and just does it because he is in so much back pain, and he bites his hands to take his mind off the back pain.

Olivia showed enormous compassion to him.  She cleaned the hands with saline, applied xeroform to the open wounds, covered the xeroform with gauze and then used the elastic IV dressing stockinette on each finger.  The patient was so happy as he stated she dressed the hands so well that he had no desire to bite his hands.  She treated the patient with so much respect and did everything in her power to make that day better and helped him not want to bite his hands.  The patient would not let me take the dressings off, he said, “she did a wonderful job, you are not touching them”.

The patient had a very recent admission for the same issue (hand and finger biting), where the Psychiatric team had recommended he get specialized treatment for his obsessive-compulsive behavior.  He told me he had no information on who to call.  Olivia took the time to look up his discharge instructions from the previous admission, and there was a number for the patient to call.  She was accountable, and she said that she would make sure the numbers were on his discharge paperwork again when she discharged him later that day.

The Miriam Hospital is lucky to have her as a kind, compassionate and excellent nurse.  This patient had complicated issues to manage, she managed them with a quiet kind of grace and gave the patient respectful, dignified care.

She is highly deserving of the DAISY Award.