Keisha demonstrated the highest degree of compassion for one of her patients. She went above and beyond her job duties and responsibilities to ensure the safety of the patient when he was discharged. On a typical work day for Keisha she was in the process of discharging a patient that had recently had a stroke. As Keisha began the discharge process with the spouse, the patient’s wife began to cry and express her concern with how she was going to manage the patient at home and most of all get him into their home after discharge. The wife had extreme concern because the patient had neurological deficits post the stroke and had limited physical ability on one side of his body. The wife told Keisha they had no family available to help them at home. They also had limited community resources available to them due to their type of insurance.

As Keisha spent time with the spouse, she kept trying to think of something she could do to help this couple. The ICARE Values (Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect, and Compassion) that we are taught from day one at Methodist Sugar Land Hospital began to work within Keisha, specifically, compassion. She felt an extreme desire to help this couple and wanted to make sure they felt like their concerns were being heard by the nursing staff. Keisha told the spouse, "If you can wait until I am done with my shift, I will assist you with getting your husband home." After Keisha completed her shift, Keisha and her two children followed the patient and his wife to their home. Keisha assisted the wife with getting her husband into their home and settled him in the house.

The wife then expressed to Keisha that she would not be able to pick up her husband’s medications until the next day because that is the only time a family friend would be available to stay with her husband while she went to the pharmacy. Keisha told the wife, "Don't worry, I will take the prescriptions to the pharmacy and wait for them to be filled and bring them back to you."

The most outstanding element of Keisha's act of kindness is she did not share this with anyone on the unit. The management team and administration became aware of Keisha's act of kindness when she was in my office and our CEO stopped by while making rounds and she asked him how could she start a volunteer service for nurses to help patients to get home and get their medications when they do not have family, friends or available resources to help them. As her manager, I was concerned that Keisha did not tell anyone on the unit of her plan to help this couple when she completed her shift. When I asked her why, Keisha simply responded, "I was not worried. When you do something kind for someone God will always take care of you. I did not tell anyone because I did not do it for anyone recognize me. I did it to make sure the patient and wife made it home safely and he had the medications he needed to hopefully prevent him from having another stroke.

"That was an extremely proud moment for me as Keisha's manager because our unit motto had been put into action: "Treat each patient and family as if they were your family because one day it could be one of us admitted as a patient."