Jonathan Hoffman
August 2024
Jonathan
Hoffman
,
BSN, RN
Tower 5
Advocate Condell Medical Center
Libertyville
,
IL
United States
John helped us understand what that process was and gave us the best piece of advice that we didn't know we'd need: he explained that we would need to advocate for our mom regardless of how nice the rehab facility was.
At 96, this was my mom's first time in the hospital since she had children almost 60 years ago. She was admitted from ED with UTI and delirium. John was there for 3 of the 4 days she was there, and each time, he walked us through what her lab values meant and could explain what they were watching. His personality lit up my mom's face and made her at ease, which is not an easy task in an unfamiliar situation such as a hospital was to our mom. Since our mom wasn't able to get out of bed due to to weakness from the UTI, it was decided she needed to go to a rehab facility to build her strength. John helped us understand what that process was and gave us the best piece of advice that we didn't know we'd need: he explained that we would need to advocate for our mom regardless of how nice the rehab facility was. We had never been down this road before, and we had no idea how important his advice would be.
Unfortunately, 3 hours after our mom was released from Condell, she had a stroke at the rehab facility. She spent the next 4 weeks at Northwestern in step-down neuro care and ultimately went to a second rehab facility, which is where the advocating was crucial to her care. After 5 weeks there, she developed another UTI and had stopped eating and drinking. They brought her to Condell, and we saw John as he was leaving after his shift. We stopped him to thank him for the care he gave our mom back in March (it was May by then.) He remembered my mom and us, and he came and visited her the next day. Even though he was not her nurse, he helped us as we navigated the decision to take our mom to hospice, where she passed 15 days later.
He may never fully understand how much his care and support guided us, but we tell everyone, any chance we get, about the care John provided to our mom and our family. I know we had other fantastic nurses while we were there--the care was outstanding. John really went above and beyond and is the model of how all nurses should provide care. We saw a lot of healthcare providers during that time before our mom passed, and John stands out. Thank you, John. You make a difference in patients' and family's lives.
Unfortunately, 3 hours after our mom was released from Condell, she had a stroke at the rehab facility. She spent the next 4 weeks at Northwestern in step-down neuro care and ultimately went to a second rehab facility, which is where the advocating was crucial to her care. After 5 weeks there, she developed another UTI and had stopped eating and drinking. They brought her to Condell, and we saw John as he was leaving after his shift. We stopped him to thank him for the care he gave our mom back in March (it was May by then.) He remembered my mom and us, and he came and visited her the next day. Even though he was not her nurse, he helped us as we navigated the decision to take our mom to hospice, where she passed 15 days later.
He may never fully understand how much his care and support guided us, but we tell everyone, any chance we get, about the care John provided to our mom and our family. I know we had other fantastic nurses while we were there--the care was outstanding. John really went above and beyond and is the model of how all nurses should provide care. We saw a lot of healthcare providers during that time before our mom passed, and John stands out. Thank you, John. You make a difference in patients' and family's lives.