In Englewood, Colorado, team member Lenora Larson was recently recognized by Assistant Director of Critical Care Sara Lombardo for providing exceptional patient care and making a connection with nearly all of the patients in her unit. When the director rounded the unit, all of the patients recognized Lenora by name, but the feedback from one patient in particular stood out above the rest. The patient was on a ventilator and was aware of her surroundings, but unable to respond due to the ventilator. Lenora still acknowledged the patient, talked to her, and explained everything that she was doing while she is in the patient's room. The patient came off the ventilator the next day and was able to tell the nursing director how big of an impact Lenora made just for communicating with her, even though she couldn't respond.
"I just like to make the patient's day a little bit better. I know from personal experience how hard it can be to be a patient. My goal each day is to just bring some joy and hope to each patient I see."
The next day, HHS EVS Director Josh Lindsey brought Lenora to the leadership huddle to recognize her in front of all of the hospital leadership. Lenora thanked everyone for the recognition and said, "I just like to make the patient's day a little bit better. I know from personal experience how hard it can be to be a patient. My goal each day is to just bring some joy and hope to each patient I see. I like to talk to them and let them know that it is going to be okay."