I witnessed Danielle take a call from a 90+-year-old confused gentleman who called our stat line very confused and upset regarding a potential missed appointment for upcoming lab work. The patient had to coordinate a ride to the clinic through a 3rd party and was upset about having to cancel that ride and getting charged and missing his lab appointment. Danielle is one of the most empathic nurses I have ever had the honor of working beside in the clinic. She quickly made a connection with the patient on the phone, calming him down to better understand his concerns. While speaking with the patient, she was researching his chart and history to get a better understanding of where the confusion was. She quickly gained his confidence and trust through a sense of familiarity that she gave him.

Danielle gathered the information and quickly made several other calls. The first call was to clear up the ride situation for the patient, and she secured a ride for his upcoming new appointment for him, she then called the patient's contact in the chart (with previous permission from the patient) to explain the patient's confusion with his upcoming appointments and her general care concerns regarding the patient's well being in making these appointments and ride arrangements independently moving forward. Danielle's words were sensitive to the topic and impactful to the caregiver and the patient. She shared her overall concerns regarding the patient's confusion and frustration with the process of getting to his appointment. Danielle called the patient back as promised within the hour and was able to provide the patient with an upcoming appointment and noted his ride was already secured.

If anyone was able to overhear the phone conversation between Danielle and this patient, you would have been moved by the compassion and respect she shared with the patient as they talked through not only this appointment but the patient's overall well-being and dignity was upheld while she gently encouraged the patient to accept the help of others. She assured the patient that he was not a burden to anyone and that this was part of our role in healthcare, which was to help. Danielle took the time to slow down in a very fast paced clinic, and listen to this patient and follow through to ensure all his needs were met. She no doubt, made him feel cared for, and that it was a safe place to call for help in the future. Danielle consistently shows her compassion and treats all our patients like family.