My sister is intellectually challenged. She is a very sweet 68 year old with the mentality of a 6 to 8 year old. She also has a speech deficit. She also has some mental concerns.
When she was brought to the floor, Kim was her nurse. She took excellent care of my sister and us, the family. We were concerned not only with the surgery and pain afterwards, but didn't know if my sister could tell a nurse or an aide if she was having pain or had any other needs. Well Kim took over and very quickly tried to understand what my sister's needs were and addressed them immediately. Kim was so sweet and the way she talked with my sister gained her trust. When we had questions because her hemoglobin was low and she needed blood, this nurse was there to explain how everything worked. I was going to stay the night with her just to make sure she was taken care of, but once I saw how Kim took control of the situation and communicated to the nurse on third shift, I felt comfortable enough to leave the hospital to go home and get some rest. This nurse was pulled from her normal unit. She even said that if she wasn't needed the following day on her floor, she would check to see if she could come back to his unit to work with my sister. She had a beautiful smile and personality.
The dedication and knowledge Kim had along with the ability to handle our needs was amazing and deserves to be recognized.