Elyse Loving
July 2020
Elyse
Loving
,
RN
Cardiac Surgical ICU
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston
,
MA
United States

 

 

 

I have personally witnessed Elyse provide exceptional patient care and consistently going above and beyond throughout her time on Blake 8. There is one story that I (as well as many coworkers) found extremely touching. She had been caring for a patient who was readmitted to the ICU after being transferred to the step down post cardiac surgery. The patient began seizing and quickly decompensated over the next week leading to extensive brain swelling that resulted in irreversible damage and a poor prognosis from the care team. During this time Elyse advocated for the patient as well as the family for diagnostic tests and remained completely on top of all aspects of care. The time came where the team and family made the decision to go forward with the withdrawal of care. The family requested Elyse as their nurse and stated they found comfort knowing that she would be there during the shift to help them through one of the hardest times of their life. During the shift that they withdrew care, Elyse was precepting a new nurse and was able to share her extensive experience and knowledge with this young nurse. The patient's wife requested to be able to lay in bed with the patient who, to note, had several central lines, arterial line, breathing tube, etc. Most people found this a daunting task that challenged the safety of the patient. Elyse went forward to adjust all her devices to allow the patient's spouse to lay in the bed with the patient and have the closure that she desperately needed and wanted. Watching this shift play out makes me an extremely lucky nurse to work with such a wonderful colleague who constantly goes above and beyond to meet the needs of the family and patient.