December 2022
Gina
Stuermer
,
RN
ICU
AdventHealth Fish Memorial
Orange City
,
FL
United States
Gina sat with both the patient and her sister and comforted them as they cried.
Gina had a patient who decided to pursue hospice. Her only family at her bedside was her sister with whom she lived for many years. They took care of each other and were best friends. The patient's sister was legally blind and relied heavily on her sister who was now pursuing inpatient hospice. This decision was hard for her to accept. She was her sister's POA & technically had to sign the hospice paperwork because although her sister was A&O, she was physically too weak. She was afraid to sign the paperwork because she felt that meant she was making the decision for her sister to die. Gina sat with both the patient and her sister and comforted them as they cried. She helped to bring clarity to the sister that there was no hard decision for her to make because her sister is 100% still there and she has made it. She is only helping to facilitate her sister's wishes. Gina taught the patient's sister how to use the cell phone they shared since the patient would no longer be around to help her with that. She even took one last final picture of the two of them and set it to the lock screen and home screen on the cell phone. While Gina was encouraging the sister to stay with the patient once she had transferred her to inpatient hospice, she noticed that the sister was hesitant. The patient's sister thought it best she left because she relied on neighbors for a ride home and none of them would drive in the dark or the rain. She was afraid if she didn't leave before the transfer that she would not be able to get home. Gina knew how important it was to both the patient and her sister to be there for her final moments so she called the hospice representative, as well as case management to see if there is any way that we could provide a free taxi voucher to the patient's sister so she could be with her in her last final moments. Because of the actions that Gina took that day- she not only showed compassion and our service standards but also allowed two sisters with an inseparable bond to be together when they needed each other the most.