Lee-Ann LaBombard
September 2023
Lee-Ann
LaBombard
,
RN
Patient Advocates
Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital
Plattsburgh
,
NY
United States
I am and will be forever grateful for Lee-Ann and everything that she did for our family. She made sure that I could be close to my grandfather during his final hours with us. Lee-Ann was a comfort for us during a very sad time for our family.
In the final hours of a loved one’s life, many family members want to be as close by as possible to share their love and say goodbye. The University of Vermont Health Network-Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) Patient Advocate Manager Lee-Ann LaBombard’s touching compassion ensured a local family’s needs were met in one of its darkest hours, and that is why she is the hospital’s first recipient of the DAISY Leader Award.
LaBombard was nominated by A, the granddaughter of a patient.
“Lee-Ann has such a helpful, kind, and above all else, a caring demeanor about her,” A writes in her nomination.
She came to know Lee-Ann after getting the devastating news in June 2022 that her beloved grandfather was admitted to CVPH and was not expected to make it. She rushed to the hospital to be with “Grandpa B” and met up with a large contingent of family already there.
“Our family is quite large. My grandparents had four children, and then there are 12 grandchildren. So you can imagine we can be quite the crowd when gathered together,” A says.
Many of the family members came together at the entrance next to the Emergency Department. But it wasn’t an area that was conducive to privacy. And it wasn’t nearly as close as A and the rest of the family wanted to be to their loved one. At that time, COVID visitor protocols were in place but the CVPH Welcome Policy offered some flexibility to care teams to accommodate families during the last hours of their loved ones’ lives.
That’s where LaBombard, as a Patient Advocate Manager, came in. A contacted LaBombard, explaining the situation and the hope that the family could be closer to the patient as he received end-of-life care. After speaking to his doctors and the nursing unit’s leadership team, LaBombard was able to open up the solarium to the family.
“Lee-Ann went with us up to the floor and made sure that we were settled and as close to my grandfather’s room as we could be,” A recalls.
LaBombard, who is a registered nurse, requested a Comfort Cart for the family so they had some light refreshments and continued checking in with them to make sure they had what they needed.
“I am and will be forever grateful for Lee-Ann and everything that she did for our family. She made sure that I could be close to my grandfather during his final hours with us,” A adds. “Lee-Ann was a comfort for us during a very sad time for our family.”
“Everyone who ever met Grandpa B has a memory of him, from visiting him at his orchard to kids taking field trips there and picking pumpkins,” she continues. “I think the community would be happy and thankful to know that Lee-Ann made it possible for Grandpa to have his family with him during his final time on Earth.”
LaBombard was nominated by A, the granddaughter of a patient.
“Lee-Ann has such a helpful, kind, and above all else, a caring demeanor about her,” A writes in her nomination.
She came to know Lee-Ann after getting the devastating news in June 2022 that her beloved grandfather was admitted to CVPH and was not expected to make it. She rushed to the hospital to be with “Grandpa B” and met up with a large contingent of family already there.
“Our family is quite large. My grandparents had four children, and then there are 12 grandchildren. So you can imagine we can be quite the crowd when gathered together,” A says.
Many of the family members came together at the entrance next to the Emergency Department. But it wasn’t an area that was conducive to privacy. And it wasn’t nearly as close as A and the rest of the family wanted to be to their loved one. At that time, COVID visitor protocols were in place but the CVPH Welcome Policy offered some flexibility to care teams to accommodate families during the last hours of their loved ones’ lives.
That’s where LaBombard, as a Patient Advocate Manager, came in. A contacted LaBombard, explaining the situation and the hope that the family could be closer to the patient as he received end-of-life care. After speaking to his doctors and the nursing unit’s leadership team, LaBombard was able to open up the solarium to the family.
“Lee-Ann went with us up to the floor and made sure that we were settled and as close to my grandfather’s room as we could be,” A recalls.
LaBombard, who is a registered nurse, requested a Comfort Cart for the family so they had some light refreshments and continued checking in with them to make sure they had what they needed.
“I am and will be forever grateful for Lee-Ann and everything that she did for our family. She made sure that I could be close to my grandfather during his final hours with us,” A adds. “Lee-Ann was a comfort for us during a very sad time for our family.”
“Everyone who ever met Grandpa B has a memory of him, from visiting him at his orchard to kids taking field trips there and picking pumpkins,” she continues. “I think the community would be happy and thankful to know that Lee-Ann made it possible for Grandpa to have his family with him during his final time on Earth.”