Amanda is one of those nurses who has a big heart for the elderly. You often hear her relate a patient to being her or someone’s parent, and she worries for them. On this day, Amanda took the time to talk and listen to an elderly gentleman share his concerns.  

Amanda was his admitting nurse, and he was worried about his wife at home.  It was evident to Amanda that he could barely care for himself.  The gentleman talked to Amanda about being hungry because of prepping for his procedure.  She then engaged him in conversation about what he would eat when he got home.  He shared that he would likely eat cereal as he didn’t really have meals at home.  He reported that he gets “meals on wheels” but doesn’t like the food all the time. 

When the gentleman was done with his procedure, Amanda made it a point to follow up with him in recovery.  When he was fully awake, she went to the cafeteria and bought him chicken fingers and a drink.  The patient was so touched that she had gone the extra mile.  The patient had tears of joy and kept saying thank you, and Amanda was crying, too.  Other staff members on the unit all observed this interaction, and many also had tears.  

Amanda continued to voice concerns and took the time to find directions that were easy to follow to his next Doctor's appointment. She also went the extra mile and contacted case management to see if there were any other services that we could offer to this patient to help with his day-to-day routine. Because of Amanda’s compassion and empathy, case management was going to follow up once the patient was home. 

Amanda is truly amazing!