Chrissi, I would like to personally thank you for the extraordinary care that you gave to Mr. H and his family this morning. Mr. H was the father of one of my neighbors and the grandfather of one of our first-year medical students. I was the one who suggested that they have him transferred to The Med Center after he had been treated for over a week at another hospital in town for "pneumonia" without making any progress. He did not have pneumonia, of course, but instead he had a variety of conditions that were much worse and not survivable. With our Palliative Care service in place, Mr. H passed away this morning, comfortably and with dignity. His family related to me a very touching story about how you handled things around the time of his passing:
The patient's family made the decision to proceed with palliative care on Saturday. In the early hours of Sunday morning his condition began to deteriorate, and the family could not get there. You spent time with the patient, and also talked to the family on the phone. After talking with the family, you told the patient that his wife Mary said that she loved him. The patient was comforted by that, and passed away shortly thereafter, with you staying with him in those final moments. They are all very appreciative of everything that you did for him, and for them.
Today you provided the kind of extraordinary care to a patient and his family that the rest of us strive to provide but rarely achieve. You made all of us look good today. Thank you for being such an asset to our organization and, most of all, thank you for going above and beyond to provide the comfort and emotional support that helped my friends get through this difficult time.