June 2026 Honoree
Ekaterine Nazghaidze, RN
Our situation was unique. Dad was on hospice for about a year and a half. A month before he passed, Mom also became ill and was put on hospice. Our wonderful nurse, Ekaterina Nazghaidze, was our guiding light through it all.
Dad's case was quite complex; having a catheter on top of all the other health issues was no easy task. But my brother, sister, and I did everything we could to make our time together as enjoyable as possible. Ekaterina always gave them both the best care. She never hesitated to answer a question any of us had. There were so many questions. She always treated them with the utmost respect. I would text her questions; even though I didn't know she was off, she still answered me. She cared that much. She also respected the fact that although our parents were on hospice, we were not ready to rush to give the morphine, just because of the word hospice. She explained, along with the chaplain, social worker, and the music therapist, the many stages you encounter with patients on hospice.
Some nurses, on the first encounter, talk about making the patient comfortable and giving morphine. Ekaterina, right from the beginning, knew how we felt about giving any of those hospice drugs, and she respected our decision. But near the end, when it was time to give the morphine, we trusted her enough to know that her decision was the best for the patients. This was another reason we valued her knowledge and care. She saw the care we were giving our parents, respected our wishes, and would tell us what would most likely happen next. We had many nurses visit during that time. Still, it was Ekaterina who became the one we always looked forward to seeing, answered our questions, and respected whatever we were trying to do to make Mom and Dad enjoy whatever time they had left.
When Mom made it to her 103rd birthday, Ekaterina was there to celebrate. When Mom passed, once again, like when Dad passed, she came to shed a tear. Hospice is difficult to watch when it's someone you love, but when you have people who care about the patient the way you do, as Ekaterina did for Mom and Dad, it made it a lot more tolerable. There were many difficult times, and sometimes her encouragement about how well we were doing (I can say for myself) meant a lot.
Dad's case was quite complex; having a catheter on top of all the other health issues was no easy task. But my brother, sister, and I did everything we could to make our time together as enjoyable as possible. Ekaterina always gave them both the best care. She never hesitated to answer a question any of us had. There were so many questions. She always treated them with the utmost respect. I would text her questions; even though I didn't know she was off, she still answered me. She cared that much. She also respected the fact that although our parents were on hospice, we were not ready to rush to give the morphine, just because of the word hospice. She explained, along with the chaplain, social worker, and the music therapist, the many stages you encounter with patients on hospice.
Some nurses, on the first encounter, talk about making the patient comfortable and giving morphine. Ekaterina, right from the beginning, knew how we felt about giving any of those hospice drugs, and she respected our decision. But near the end, when it was time to give the morphine, we trusted her enough to know that her decision was the best for the patients. This was another reason we valued her knowledge and care. She saw the care we were giving our parents, respected our wishes, and would tell us what would most likely happen next. We had many nurses visit during that time. Still, it was Ekaterina who became the one we always looked forward to seeing, answered our questions, and respected whatever we were trying to do to make Mom and Dad enjoy whatever time they had left.
When Mom made it to her 103rd birthday, Ekaterina was there to celebrate. When Mom passed, once again, like when Dad passed, she came to shed a tear. Hospice is difficult to watch when it's someone you love, but when you have people who care about the patient the way you do, as Ekaterina did for Mom and Dad, it made it a lot more tolerable. There were many difficult times, and sometimes her encouragement about how well we were doing (I can say for myself) meant a lot.
Thank you, Ekaterine, for your exceptional compassion, advocacy, and dedication to your patients. You truly make a difference.
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