Jean Knecht
April 2013
Jean
Knecht
,
RN CPN
Pediatrics
Southern New Hampshire Medical Center
Nashua
,
NH
United States

 

 

 

I am very excited to nominate this extraordinary Pediatric Nurse for the DAISY Award. Not only has she been a dedicated nurse here at SNHHS for 20 years, but she is bi-lingual and has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology.

Although she always goes above and beyond for her patients and peers, we recently had a family with a 15-year-old boy who became acutely ill after being diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). When I received this family from the Emergency Department, it was 6 pm on the day shift, one hour before shift change. This exceptional nurse, Jean Knecht, just happened to arrive early for her night shift and did not hesitate to jump right in to help. The patient urgently needed IV fluids and at least two units of blood, not to mention the lab work and personal care he required.

The family appeared fatigued, stressed and the patient looked extremely ill. The father went on to tell us that this was a teenager who went from walking and talking to non-verbal and bedridden in three months. Their child has now received chemo and had a central line and g-tube. The father was exhausted and stated that he had not slept in three months. To make things more complicated, the father was outspoken about unpleasant experiences they recently had at another facility. He was also very persistent that his son's care was efficient and timely enough to be discharged by 8am the next morning as they relied on friends to help transport their son.

Overnight, Jean made sure that not only the patient was comfortable but the father as well. She rearranged the room and was able to provide the dad with a real bed so he could get a good nights sleep.

During the night, the patient ended up requiring four units of blood. Jean proved that she was able to balance the care of the patient as well as the physical and emotional needs of the family. Her calming approach as well as her exceptional care left the father wanting to arrange for his son to receive as much of his treatment on our Pediatric Unit as possible. I would love for this well deserving nurse to get the DAISY Award as recognition from the staff, the patient and his family.

On the satisfaction survey, the father wrote "Absolutely the best care I've ever experienced!" Jean Knecht is a prime example of what it means to provide a higher level of care!