When the decision was made in March of this year to stop the surgical procedures, the organization was faced with a difficult task in moving the Perioperative/ASU staff to other patient care areas to assist in the care of our patients during the COVID Crisis.
After discussion and much planning, the ASU staff was assigned to different patient care areas to function as a primary caregiver after some orientation. Aimee was assigned to 5N. After only two days of "orientation", she stepped up to the task and started immediately to take care of these difficult sick patients.
Aimee started her career on the Med Surg unit over 20 years ago, on 5N, and then moved on to the ASU. When she was assigned to SN, she immediately became a valued member of the team and provided exceptional patient care as well as daily communication to family members at home. Her compassion and caring manner were so well received as noted by the multiple compliments received by patients and families.
When the crisis started to calm down, and surgical cases started back up, Aimee could have returned to her unit but she agreed to stay on with "her new family" to assist for another couple of weeks. There are no words to express the deep gratitude the 5N staff had for her. Aimee herself at the end of her Med Surg experience shared with me that she always had a soft spot for 5N and that we were "something special". She went on to say that she loved working every shift and through the madness each of the staff worked as a team and they always laughed despite how busy it was. She thanked me from the bottom of her heart for welcoming her back to her old home. As the Director of the floor, I was so grateful for the care she provided and never had any complaints from her. It was an absolute pleasure to call her part of our 5N family.
Even now back in her ASU position, she continues to show dedication and compassion to her patients. A Urology patient complimented her recently on assisting him during his admission process. He stated that she came down to meet him in the lobby to assist with some minor insurance issues and started his pre-op intake immediately so he didn't lose the OR time. He said she used her cell phone and his credit card to solve the issue. He stated she made him feel relaxed and supported.
I am sure this is just a small sampling of everything she does for the organization, for the team she works with, and most importantly, for her patients. All of these attributes are what make Aimee a DAISY Nurse.