Martee Goldberg
September 2016
Martha "Martee"
Goldberg
,
MSN, RN, CCRN
Cardiac Intensive Care Unit
Children's National Medical Center
Washington
,
DC
United States
I know hundreds of families, nurses, and doctors are co-writing this commendation for Martee Goldberg. Martee, affectionately known by many as "Mama Martee", "Aunt" Martee", or "Saint Martee", is a loving member of countless families. She has forever made a positive difference at the hospital through her kindness, support, expertise, and love.
Our family met Martee when one of my twin daughters was admitted to the CICU at 3 months in heart failure. So much of that time is a blur to me, but I distinctly remember seeing Martee's face for the first time, and what a calming effect she had on me. I trusted her immediately, and my husband and I literally clung to her many times from that point forward. Martee went out of her way to explain the details for my daughter's care needs to us; taking her time, talking to us softly and calmly, asking us what she could do for us, all while she administered my daughter's medications on time, addressed emergency situations effectively, and coordinated care among the many specialists.
Not only was Martee an exceptional CICU nurse who worked tirelessly for my daughter under regularly intense situations, she also asked to be her primary nurse. As we understand, this was one of the first times the CICU used the primary nurse program. We were overwhelmingly grateful to Martee for offering to do this for us. In her "spare time", she created a binder with all of my daughter's care needs, which evolved over time when my daughter got a Berlin Heart and subsequently had a heart transplant, and noted my daughter's preferences for care. Martee's efforts helped tremendously, as other nurses and also doctors who cared for my daughter could access this information easily in one place. This was especially significant because my daughter was one of the first recipients of the Berlin Heart at CNMC, and many medical staff were training on the medical care necessary for a Berlin Heart patient. As her parents, it was also useful and reassuring to be able to reference the binder whenever necessary.
Martee was our "go to" nurse for years. We could talk with her about anything. She gave us warm hugs through both the most difficult of times and also the most wonderful. We celebrated together when my daughter was doing well. She took my daughter on countless wagon rides around the CICU when she had the Berlin Heart, and she often visited my daughter when she was in the Heart and Kidney Unit post-heart transplant. It means so much to us that Martee took time out of her busy days to say hello and see how my daughter was doing. She also took the time to write us cards to our home. Martee's genuine care, warm demeanor, and pure love for her patients are extraordinary. When I think of Martee, I am full of emotion; my thankfulness and love for her spill over.
Every family with whom I have ever spoken about Martee views her as a member of their family. Patients and parents love her because of who she is as a person, and because she knows what she's doing and advocates effectively for her patients. She always is on time with medicines, she explains after rounds every detail of the medical plan for the day, she helps reduce patients' pain and anxiety during procedures, she trains new nurses who regularly shadow her, and she knows an extensive amount about the medicines used in complex care cases. Doctors and other nurses also clearly respect and admire her. Additionally, Martee has the role of onboarding other nurses because the hospital rightly recognizes that if the best is training others, the entire team will excel.
When my daughter passed away about three months ago, we thought with intense sadness, "How are we going to tell Martee?" When she so thoughtfully came to my daughter's memorial service, I clung to her like I have so many times in the past. Martee has been right at our side through most of the hardest and best times of our lives.
Martee's skills, caring, and compassion are second to none. To say Martee is an asset to CNMC is a huge understatement. She is a jewel, a gift. I write this with tears streaming down my face, and a feeling that hundreds of people she has helped are writing this with me.
Our family met Martee when one of my twin daughters was admitted to the CICU at 3 months in heart failure. So much of that time is a blur to me, but I distinctly remember seeing Martee's face for the first time, and what a calming effect she had on me. I trusted her immediately, and my husband and I literally clung to her many times from that point forward. Martee went out of her way to explain the details for my daughter's care needs to us; taking her time, talking to us softly and calmly, asking us what she could do for us, all while she administered my daughter's medications on time, addressed emergency situations effectively, and coordinated care among the many specialists.
Not only was Martee an exceptional CICU nurse who worked tirelessly for my daughter under regularly intense situations, she also asked to be her primary nurse. As we understand, this was one of the first times the CICU used the primary nurse program. We were overwhelmingly grateful to Martee for offering to do this for us. In her "spare time", she created a binder with all of my daughter's care needs, which evolved over time when my daughter got a Berlin Heart and subsequently had a heart transplant, and noted my daughter's preferences for care. Martee's efforts helped tremendously, as other nurses and also doctors who cared for my daughter could access this information easily in one place. This was especially significant because my daughter was one of the first recipients of the Berlin Heart at CNMC, and many medical staff were training on the medical care necessary for a Berlin Heart patient. As her parents, it was also useful and reassuring to be able to reference the binder whenever necessary.
Martee was our "go to" nurse for years. We could talk with her about anything. She gave us warm hugs through both the most difficult of times and also the most wonderful. We celebrated together when my daughter was doing well. She took my daughter on countless wagon rides around the CICU when she had the Berlin Heart, and she often visited my daughter when she was in the Heart and Kidney Unit post-heart transplant. It means so much to us that Martee took time out of her busy days to say hello and see how my daughter was doing. She also took the time to write us cards to our home. Martee's genuine care, warm demeanor, and pure love for her patients are extraordinary. When I think of Martee, I am full of emotion; my thankfulness and love for her spill over.
Every family with whom I have ever spoken about Martee views her as a member of their family. Patients and parents love her because of who she is as a person, and because she knows what she's doing and advocates effectively for her patients. She always is on time with medicines, she explains after rounds every detail of the medical plan for the day, she helps reduce patients' pain and anxiety during procedures, she trains new nurses who regularly shadow her, and she knows an extensive amount about the medicines used in complex care cases. Doctors and other nurses also clearly respect and admire her. Additionally, Martee has the role of onboarding other nurses because the hospital rightly recognizes that if the best is training others, the entire team will excel.
When my daughter passed away about three months ago, we thought with intense sadness, "How are we going to tell Martee?" When she so thoughtfully came to my daughter's memorial service, I clung to her like I have so many times in the past. Martee has been right at our side through most of the hardest and best times of our lives.
Martee's skills, caring, and compassion are second to none. To say Martee is an asset to CNMC is a huge understatement. She is a jewel, a gift. I write this with tears streaming down my face, and a feeling that hundreds of people she has helped are writing this with me.