Our unit had a COVID patient placed on Comfort Care who has lived a difficult life.
He was placed on a gtt a couple of days before but seemed to be really hanging on. The staff were talking yesterday that they noticed no one had visited. They felt bad that he was on this end of life journey alone. They did not want him to die alone. So, they decided to take turns going in to spend time with him, hold his hand, and just talk to him. When it was Amy's turn, she sat next to him, held his hand, and told him it was ok to go, she told him that his family could not come but they wanted him to know that they loved him and that they were giving him permission to move on. Amy stated that at one point she felt that he may have squeezed her hand. She was so teary-eyed that the EVS stepped in, told her it was his turn, and that he would gladly sit and talk to him also. Several hours later the patient finally passed.
We shared during huddle as an example of how we could touch someone, and create a caring moment that will impact, uplift, and fill each other's emotional needs.