August 2024
Michelle L
Cowin
,
RN
Hauenstein 2
Trinity Health Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids
,
MI
United States
The patient looked so peaceful and Michelle taking the time to learn how to properly fold a sari moved the family to tears.
Michelle is an outstanding and compassionate nurse. Michelle took care of a patient with a very complicated medical history, and she developed great rapport with this patient. The patient came to realize she was dying; Michelle advocated to get a plan of care developed for this patient, working with palliative care to plan for what the patient expected from her last days. The patient’s family, who resided in India, needed time to travel to be with her. When working on a plan of care, Michelle sat with the patient, who expressed her wish for Michelle to be there during her transition to comfort care. Michelle promised she would be. To give the family time to arrive, the care team intubated the patient. Once they were present, Michelle helped follow through on the patient’s wishes. She walked the family through what the process of extubating to comfort care looked like; she stayed in the room the entire time to fulfill the promise she made to her patient. After the patient passed, Michelle took time to clean the patient and place her in a traditional sari so the family who couldn’t travel to make it to the hospital could FaceTime with family present at the hospital. The patient looked so peaceful and Michelle taking the time to learn how to properly fold a sari moved the family to tears. This is just one of the amazing things Michelle does as a nurse. Her compassion, knowledge, and advocacy is far beyond what anyone knows. She is true example of what nursing looks like. We are so lucky and proud to be Michelle’s coworkers.