Angie Subia
January 2022
Angelique
Subia
,
RN
Cardiac and Vascular Surgery
SCL Health Saint Joseph Hospital
Denver
,
CO
United States
We all need to strive to do these things for our patients and peers without expecting something in return. Angie is a great example of this.
Angie consistently goes above and beyond for her patients and team. I would like to explain one example of this dedication and compassion. CV Care currently has a very difficult patient. This patient has become a permanent resident of SJH all fall and winter. He has a complex history of gunshot wounds and a motor vehicle accident that has left him with a traumatic brain injury, paralyzed, and admitted with a stage 4 pressure ulcer. His brain injury and limited coping skills have caused him to become verbally aggressive and demanding when he feels he is not being heard. This behavior has created difficulty in finding a placement, making him a resident of SJH.
This patient has lost control over everything - moving, turning, his ability to feed himself, and control over bodily functions. The only thing he can control is the actions of the nursing staff. His only source of entertainment and communication with his out-of-state family is his cell phone. Unfortunately, last week a piece of the internal charging component of his phone broke. The phone could no longer charge and was unusable. For almost a week, the nursing staff, case managers, and resource center were trying to solve the problem. We tried different chargers and charging pads - no luck.
Finally, the Resource Center located the exact model phone that was left in the Lost and Found. They transferred the SIM card - and the patient was elated with joy! Unfortunately, the replacement phone was password protected and not usable. The patient was crushed, became emotional, and started crying. He said his only family was out of state with financial constraints, so purchasing and mailing a new phone would be complicated. He had limited funds in his bank account, so he could not afford to purchase a new one and wait to be reimbursed. We hit a roadblock.
In walks Angie, who takes to solve this problem, when he's not even her patient. Before she is even clocked in, she goes to the patient’s room and helps him log into his T-Mobile account. She assists the patient in picking out a new cell phone plan, saving him money on his monthly bill, and getting a new phone mailed to him in two weeks. In the meantime, she offered the patient an old android phone that her family member is no longer using. Angie is new to SJH, in fact, I think the patient has been here longer than Angie has! Angie took it upon herself to solve a problem that many others had spent countless hours trying to fix. She went above and beyond to help a patient that was not even hers. Her big heart and problem-solving ability make her an excellent addition to our hospital.
We are so lucky to have her and see big things for Angie’s future! For Angie’s ability to bring light and hope to a patient’s life, she is deserving of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing.
***
This patient has been hospitalized for almost 5 months and has made his way through many of the units of Saint Joseph hospital mainly because the staff has had difficulty caring for this patient because of behavior concerns. He suffers from a TBI and is a quadriplegic following a recent MVA. Angie went out of her way while he was on CV surgery to provide him with a cell phone that she had at her home that was not being used. She helped him set up his account with T-Mobile. He eventually made his way to a new floor and she went out of her way to come to visit him at 2 in the morning to see if he was having any issues with his cell phone. He has very minimal use of his hands and is not able to easily access his phone. She then reached out the following night to this staff member to see if any issues had arisen as his phone plan had changed on this day. To most people, it may seem silly like it's "just a phone". To this patient, it was all he had his source of entertainment, his chance to feel human, his connection to his family and friends who lived elsewhere. Any nurse can follow nursing orders, protocols, etc., sadly- we rarely come across nurses at this point in the pandemic tired burnt out who go above and beyond to humbly help with the "little things". Although these tasks are not required of us nurses it is beautiful to see a simple act of love and kindness. We all need to strive to do these things for our patients and peers without expecting something in return. Angie is a great example of this.
This patient has lost control over everything - moving, turning, his ability to feed himself, and control over bodily functions. The only thing he can control is the actions of the nursing staff. His only source of entertainment and communication with his out-of-state family is his cell phone. Unfortunately, last week a piece of the internal charging component of his phone broke. The phone could no longer charge and was unusable. For almost a week, the nursing staff, case managers, and resource center were trying to solve the problem. We tried different chargers and charging pads - no luck.
Finally, the Resource Center located the exact model phone that was left in the Lost and Found. They transferred the SIM card - and the patient was elated with joy! Unfortunately, the replacement phone was password protected and not usable. The patient was crushed, became emotional, and started crying. He said his only family was out of state with financial constraints, so purchasing and mailing a new phone would be complicated. He had limited funds in his bank account, so he could not afford to purchase a new one and wait to be reimbursed. We hit a roadblock.
In walks Angie, who takes to solve this problem, when he's not even her patient. Before she is even clocked in, she goes to the patient’s room and helps him log into his T-Mobile account. She assists the patient in picking out a new cell phone plan, saving him money on his monthly bill, and getting a new phone mailed to him in two weeks. In the meantime, she offered the patient an old android phone that her family member is no longer using. Angie is new to SJH, in fact, I think the patient has been here longer than Angie has! Angie took it upon herself to solve a problem that many others had spent countless hours trying to fix. She went above and beyond to help a patient that was not even hers. Her big heart and problem-solving ability make her an excellent addition to our hospital.
We are so lucky to have her and see big things for Angie’s future! For Angie’s ability to bring light and hope to a patient’s life, she is deserving of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing.
***
This patient has been hospitalized for almost 5 months and has made his way through many of the units of Saint Joseph hospital mainly because the staff has had difficulty caring for this patient because of behavior concerns. He suffers from a TBI and is a quadriplegic following a recent MVA. Angie went out of her way while he was on CV surgery to provide him with a cell phone that she had at her home that was not being used. She helped him set up his account with T-Mobile. He eventually made his way to a new floor and she went out of her way to come to visit him at 2 in the morning to see if he was having any issues with his cell phone. He has very minimal use of his hands and is not able to easily access his phone. She then reached out the following night to this staff member to see if any issues had arisen as his phone plan had changed on this day. To most people, it may seem silly like it's "just a phone". To this patient, it was all he had his source of entertainment, his chance to feel human, his connection to his family and friends who lived elsewhere. Any nurse can follow nursing orders, protocols, etc., sadly- we rarely come across nurses at this point in the pandemic tired burnt out who go above and beyond to humbly help with the "little things". Although these tasks are not required of us nurses it is beautiful to see a simple act of love and kindness. We all need to strive to do these things for our patients and peers without expecting something in return. Angie is a great example of this.