Hannah Smith
July 2024
Hannah
Smith
,
RN
CV
Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Minneapolis
,
MN
United States
Hannah cared for him for multiple days, and together they learned how to communicate with each other when the foster mom was not at his bedside. They would use hand gestures and facial cues to communicate.
I would like to nominate Hannah Smith for the DAISY Award. For background context, our unit was caring for an 18-year-old boy who recently immigrated from West Africa to the United States. He had been feeling ill after he immigrated, so his foster mom took him to the emergency room to get checked out. It was discovered that he had a congenital heart defect and needed emergent open-heart surgery. For an 18-year-old boy in a new country, this would be terrifying. In addition, the boy did not speak English, and the language he spoke was not included in the Allina Health interpreter system. The only person who could help translate was his foster mom, who was not always at the bedside.
As you can imagine, going through a major surgery in a new country where none of the staff spoke your language was challenging and terrifying. This is where Hannah comes in. Hannah was the bedside nurse taking care of this patient post open heart surgery.
Hannah cared for him for multiple days, and together they learned how to communicate with each other when the foster mom was not at his bedside. They would use hand gestures and facial cues to communicate. Together, they also learned words and short phrases that each other understood.
Hannah would encourage the patient to go on walks in the hallway and cared for him like any other post-op patient we had, despite the language barrier. The patient’s birthday was during his hospitalization, and Hannah learned that he had never celebrated his birthday before. With the help of the Charge Nurse and the HUC, they coordinated a birthday celebration for the patient to make his first birthday in the US special, despite spending it in the hospital.
The unit ordered a birthday cake for the patient, and Hannah coordinated a time that would be best for the patient to be celebrated. When the time was appropriate, Hannah gathered the nurses, NAs, and HUC on the unit to bring in his birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday to the patient. The patient, who often had a flat affect, immediately broke into a huge smile and started clapping when the staff began to sing. Throughout the song, the patient got emotional and began to cry, and Hannah was there to offer a hug. Hannah is an excellent nurse and co-worker. It is clear she has a big heart and loves her patients.
As you can imagine, going through a major surgery in a new country where none of the staff spoke your language was challenging and terrifying. This is where Hannah comes in. Hannah was the bedside nurse taking care of this patient post open heart surgery.
Hannah cared for him for multiple days, and together they learned how to communicate with each other when the foster mom was not at his bedside. They would use hand gestures and facial cues to communicate. Together, they also learned words and short phrases that each other understood.
Hannah would encourage the patient to go on walks in the hallway and cared for him like any other post-op patient we had, despite the language barrier. The patient’s birthday was during his hospitalization, and Hannah learned that he had never celebrated his birthday before. With the help of the Charge Nurse and the HUC, they coordinated a birthday celebration for the patient to make his first birthday in the US special, despite spending it in the hospital.
The unit ordered a birthday cake for the patient, and Hannah coordinated a time that would be best for the patient to be celebrated. When the time was appropriate, Hannah gathered the nurses, NAs, and HUC on the unit to bring in his birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday to the patient. The patient, who often had a flat affect, immediately broke into a huge smile and started clapping when the staff began to sing. Throughout the song, the patient got emotional and began to cry, and Hannah was there to offer a hug. Hannah is an excellent nurse and co-worker. It is clear she has a big heart and loves her patients.