My mother had severe COPD and decided on the 28th to receive only palliative care until she died. Implementation of this decision was stressful, to say the least, to her 4 children, their spouses, her 89 year old husband and assorted grandchildren, all of whom descended on the hospital.

Kristen and Jennifer were models of compassion and competence throughout this ordeal and helped our family immensely. They answered questions (medical and otherwise), found things for us, provided quiet emotional support and, most importantly, eased my mother's discomfort whenever asked to do so. But they didn't hover or get in the way or insist on unnecessary medical protocols, but were always there when needed. Simply put, they could not have been better.

I would also like to thank Seton Hospital for allowing us to stay in room 463 until my mother died. Because it is a negative pressure room, 463 is larger than a standard hospital room and has an annex with a sliding door that is useful for making telephone calls and accommodating a large family like ours. My mother didn't need intermediate level hospital care during her final 30 hours at Seton and the hospital would have been entirely justified in asking us to move to a different room or to hospice care outside the hospital. We were allowed to stay in this room, which was much easier for the family, if not for the hospital. Thank you.

My father was also patient at Seton Hospital for most of the month of April (I think he left the hospital on April 22 and my mother checked in on April 23). So my sister, brother and I (as well as our spouses) spent a lot of time in Seton Hospital during the past month and only have good things to say about the care my family members received. You can and should be proud of your people.