My father was recently and briefly a patient in the oncology ward. During his stay, dad unfortunatley succumbed to the disease. During his three day hospitalization he was cared for by a number of skilled and compassionate professionals. More accurately, Dad and his immediate family members were cared for by the outstandinding staff and our emotional needs were also attended to.

In this nomination, I would like to particularly recognize Alex Goetten for her nursing skills in managing dad's pain and ensuring his comfort. On the first night Alex reviewed with me the orders for care and upon observing my dad's discomfort she recognized that the orders for pain management were inadequate. Working with a real sense of urgency she was able to quickly get additional meds ordered and delivered, increasing dad's comfort and reducing the emotional stress on family members in attendance. During the three nights that she cared for dad, she was incredibly attentive to his needs and to proactively ensuring unnecessary blood draws and etc. procedures were removed from the orders as dad's condition quickly deteriorated to the point that palliative care was given that was appropriate.

She treated dad with tenderness and compassion and extended that care to my brother and me who each remained during an overnight shift. As she was monitoring dad she also was checking our emotional needs and helped us both through the very difficult experience of watching our dad slip away from us. We were both determined that dad should not be left alone, but we greatly underestimated the emotional challenge of a bedside nurse with or without additional family support. Alex helped dad through his final stage of life and helped us to be there for him while carrying out her duties.

Alex demonstrated outstanding medical knowledge, nursing skill, and an abundance of compassion for which I strongly believe she should be recognized for.