A patient recently shared that during his last hospital admissions he had some good nurses. He said he's never seen anyone like this nurse on 4 West. This nurse stood out to him above everyone else. He feels his nurse saved his life physically and emotionally. She talked to him from the heart, not as a matter of procedure. He said if all employees were like her, there wouldn't be enough rooms in the hospital for everyone who would choose to come here.
After the discharge, he is going into Hospice and says he truly would not be able to face death without the encouragement he received in his talks with his nurse. He wants her to know he is so grateful for her.
The nurse manager called to follow up with the patient after his discharge and he wanted to add more to this nomination. Hearing the loud flow of oxygen through the phone along with his struggling voice and pauses to breathe, I knew what he wanted to say was important to him. He said what meant the most to him was after this nurse had finished her shift and already clocked out, she came back to him. She sat in his room and spent time talking and educating just him. From that, he knew that she wasn't just doing her job. Spending her own precious time with him meant the whole world to him. He was crying by the time we ended our conversation but he wanted me to know this one last thing. In the calmest voice, despite the oxygen blaring, he said, "I have ordered my morphine and I have my diaper. I am ready to go."
This nurse touched a life in the most meaningful way possible. Even though hi forever isn't far away, it's more than obvious that he feels he owes his peace and comfort to Gloria Davis.