Heather Eichorn
July 2019
Heather
Eichorn
,
RN, BSN
Labor & Delivery
Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health
Indianapolis
,
IN
United States
While I was at the labor and delivery unit at Methodist Hospital, Heather was my nurse for 3 of the 4 days. We were there because I had been in a car accident and needed to recover from fractures while also making sure baby stayed put. It was a very scary time for me and my husband since the car accident did stimulate some contractions, but Heather always made us feel safe and cared for. She went above and beyond the baseline of what is required for a nurse. She got to know us and took care of not only me but made sure my husband took care of himself too. What impressed me the most about Heather, is she didn't just give me my medications and help me to the bathroom, she advocated for me as a patient. When she noticed I was having lots of muscle pain she made sure to share that with the doctor so I could get medication for it.
When I had been stable on the monitor for a while, she approached the doctor about moving me to intermittent monitoring so I could be more comfortable. Whenever I had questions she got ahold of the doctors or appropriate department. She encouraged me to sit up on the side of the bed and helped me achieve that. She stayed with me during my first day of physical therapy so she would know how to help me with it later that day when I needed to practice. She knew that I was motivated for discharge so she helped me know what needed to happen (no IV meds needed, no catheter) and prepared me for these changes and communicated to the doctor all that was going on.
On discharge day, she stayed in communication with me and the team to let me know exactly where everything was in the process. I was a unique patient for labor and delivery as my needs were largely ortho and Heather wasn't daunted by that a bit, she seemed as though she took care of my ortho needs just as naturally and skillfully as her more traditional labor and delivery patients.
Above all, I could tell that Heather genuinely cared about me, my baby and getting us better. She showed true compassion and made my stay in the hospital something I can look on fondly because I was so well cared for. Nurses like Heather are what make your hospital great and they deserve to be recognized for it. Nurses are far too often taken for granted, I know Heather had lots to do, yet I, as her patient, was first priority. I won't forget that.
When I had been stable on the monitor for a while, she approached the doctor about moving me to intermittent monitoring so I could be more comfortable. Whenever I had questions she got ahold of the doctors or appropriate department. She encouraged me to sit up on the side of the bed and helped me achieve that. She stayed with me during my first day of physical therapy so she would know how to help me with it later that day when I needed to practice. She knew that I was motivated for discharge so she helped me know what needed to happen (no IV meds needed, no catheter) and prepared me for these changes and communicated to the doctor all that was going on.
On discharge day, she stayed in communication with me and the team to let me know exactly where everything was in the process. I was a unique patient for labor and delivery as my needs were largely ortho and Heather wasn't daunted by that a bit, she seemed as though she took care of my ortho needs just as naturally and skillfully as her more traditional labor and delivery patients.
Above all, I could tell that Heather genuinely cared about me, my baby and getting us better. She showed true compassion and made my stay in the hospital something I can look on fondly because I was so well cared for. Nurses like Heather are what make your hospital great and they deserve to be recognized for it. Nurses are far too often taken for granted, I know Heather had lots to do, yet I, as her patient, was first priority. I won't forget that.