Shannon Smith
April 2014
Shannon
Smith
,
RN
Med/Surg
FirstHealth of the Carolinas - FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital
Pinehurst
,
NC
United States
Though Shannon shows kindness and compassion daily to everyone she comes in contact with, there was a particular patient that required more care and attention than the standard patient. Shannon would come in all hours of the night to help calm him, occupy him during the day by wheeling him around the hospital and allowing the primary nurse to care for her other patients yet it was the day of his discharge that makes Shannon stand out. This patient had a traumatic brain injury and he became upset easily. Upon finding out he was being discharged, he became very difficult and required restraints and medications for travel with EMS. The EMS staff was intimidated to travel a long distance alone with him. Without hesitation, Shannon agreed to ride in the back of the ambulance to be the "familiar" face for the patient. This would allow her to keep him calm and bring ease to the EMS staff. She was in the back of the ambulance for about 7 hours and had no regrets because it was what was best for the patient as well as the EMS staff. What a true example of extraordinary, compassionate care!
...
After 103 days of trying to find a bed for an out of state resident with special needs and mental health issues, we were finally able to get a patient discharged from 4 Medical. Shannon was a huge help throughout the entire process. This special patient had a tendency to have unexpected, sometimes violent outbursts of behavior. Shannon did a fantastic job of keeping the staff and the entire department safe during some of his worst moments. She also helped to keep the patient safe from harming himself. Shannon had always been able to calm this patient down when nobody else could. She doesn't know it, but I often called her the patient whisperer. I feel she deserves a lot of gratitude for the day to day management and care she provided this special person. The walks with him on the unit, the distraction with special activities, sitting with him and talking to him for lengthy periods, providing him with treats all served to keep this patient calm, and I felt, made a difference for him while he was stuck with us during his time on the unit. She showed a lot of love and compassion for this difficult case and she has my gratitude.
...
After 103 days of trying to find a bed for an out of state resident with special needs and mental health issues, we were finally able to get a patient discharged from 4 Medical. Shannon was a huge help throughout the entire process. This special patient had a tendency to have unexpected, sometimes violent outbursts of behavior. Shannon did a fantastic job of keeping the staff and the entire department safe during some of his worst moments. She also helped to keep the patient safe from harming himself. Shannon had always been able to calm this patient down when nobody else could. She doesn't know it, but I often called her the patient whisperer. I feel she deserves a lot of gratitude for the day to day management and care she provided this special person. The walks with him on the unit, the distraction with special activities, sitting with him and talking to him for lengthy periods, providing him with treats all served to keep this patient calm, and I felt, made a difference for him while he was stuck with us during his time on the unit. She showed a lot of love and compassion for this difficult case and she has my gratitude.