Celsa Dexter
September 2016
Celsa
Dexter
,
RN
6 South Oncology
Holy Cross Hospital
Silver Springs
,
MD
United States

 

 

 

Throughout my mother's hospitalization and eventual death, Celsa was a real patient advocate. She always made sure to discuss the day's plan with us and treated my mother with ongoing empathy and respect.
My mom was a very independent woman who did not always wish to accept help. Celsa was compassionate about this, providing explanations for both her and our family about why certain therapies were being provided (or, eventually, withdrawn). She treated our whole family with love and care. Transitioning a patient to end-of-life care is never easy for a family. Celsa helped ease our pain in making these decisions.
At one point during the hospitalization, there had been some confusion about hospice services and what would be available for my mother. Our original plan was to bring my mother home, but given her degree of pain and (eventually) autonomic instability, Celsa raised the flag that providing care in that environment might be overwhelming. Celsa took the extra steps to insist that one of the hospice physicians come by to discuss our options even when it was late in the day—and follow-up to make sure it happened.
Celsa is not just a great nurse; she's a wonderful and empathetic person. Celsa really helped provide physical and emotional support we needed over my mother's last few days. Thank you for everything.