We have many long term patients in the CICU. Renee has had several of these patients for several weeks now. One is only 23 years old and has been in our unit since June and most likely won't ever be able to live outside of the hospital. He is a heart failure patient that had an LVAD/RVAC placement done in June as a last ditch effort to save his life. As you can imagine, his prognosis and the fact that he has been bed-ridden in the ICU can really take a toll on his morale. Renee has really made an effort to keep his spirits up. She has not only taken excellent care of him physically, she has gotten to know his family and friends and brings him his favorite movies from RedBox, especially since he can't make it to the theaters to see them.

Another patient Renee touched just finally left the hospital last week with her new heartware device. She stayed in the CICU from May until earlier this month. She loved arts and crafts to keep herself busy while cooped up in the ICU. Renee always brought her supplies, from wax paper to new crayons and glue. She always made the patient's day.

The last example I have of Renee's compassion would be when she had an elderly surgery patient in bed 4. She told Renee that she just wished that she could go home, sit on her front porch with her husband, and while holding hands they would watch the sunset. So the next day, Renee did what she could to make that happen. She, with the help of other nurses, got the patient into a wheelchair and took her up to the helipad on top of the critical care tower just as the sun was setting. As her husband couldn't make it to the hospital he wasn't there to hold her hand, but Renee gave the patient such joy and hope that within the week she was home and able to do just that.

Renee goes above and beyond for all of her patients and their families everyday. She is the perfect example of compassionate nursing.