September 2009
Isabel
Sanchez
,
RN
Pediatric Heart Center
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford
Palo Alto
,
CA
United States

 

 

 

There are numerous stories and incidences of Isabel Sanchez, RN going well above and beyond for many of our hispanic patients. She always demonstrates a high level of empathy for these families and the many challenges they face both in the medical and non-medical setting. She is a true inspiration and a role model to the nursing profession to maximize their potential on a daily basis in the area of delivering a high standrad of excellent nursing care to all children and their families.

One family in particular had twins that had to come for blood transfusions twice a month since their early toddler days. These twins were also diabetic. The family faced many challenges both inside and outside of the high level of health care needs of their children. RN Sanchez established a relationship with the mother, Mrs. Mendoza, that allowed her to feel comfortable to send her 18 year old daughter with the twins so she could keep her employment. She spent much time explaining the need to empower Mrs. Mendoza to send a written note of the times and insulin levels and doses of any medication given to the children. RN Sanchez would send written notes home with the children to enable a safe level of monitoring to be maintained for these children with regards to their diabetes. RN Sanchez was highly involved in the multidisciplinary care and bridging the gap between various medical service departments that these children received care from. She was the perfect role model for completing the circle of relationship based care. The twins had many long days in the hospital and Mrs. Mendoza felt RN Sanchez was like a surrogate mom to her children during this time.

In another incidence, Isabel is able to transfer her calmness and comfort to patients such as Jose to greatly inspire the outcome of an otherwise fearful procedure. She has been able to develop a trust factor with Jose which is a key component to a 2 year treatment course for his Leukemia. Her presence in the procedure room allows Jose's family true "peace of mind" when they step away from their son to await the completion of the procedure.

When Jose and his mother were made aware of the potential nomination of RN Sanchez for the DAISY award, their eyes lit up. They strongly agree with the nomination, stating that Isabel always made them feel comfortable, safe, and secure about their questions and any procedures involved. This helped highly in them being able to understand and accept the diagnosis and course of treatment involved. Seeing the same friendly face for each procedure allayed fears and doubts that had arisen between appointments. Her thorough and factual explanations never overwhelmed them but rather clarified what they had previously heard from the medical team. She never hesitated to repeat her explanations and always with such patience and calmness. They always left the hospital feeling highly respected and special by RN Sanchez. They were constantly amazed by her high level of professionalism at all times.