Kristina Pelletier
March 2021
Kristina
Pelletier
,
RN
Medical
UMass Memorial Medical Center
Kristina is one of the most empathetic people I have ever worked with. She gives so much of her heart to her patients, every single day.
I am nominating Kristina Pelletier for a DAISY Award. Since West 1 has been a covid unit, I have seen many RNs stand out for exceptional care. While I would love to nominate each one, I think it is important to acknowledge when people go above and beyond in providing nursing care. Kristina does this on a regular basis. She has had several Covid patients at end-of-life, as well as patients who have lost a loved one/spouse to Covid while they have also beenhospitalized. This is extremely difficult for our patients to cope with, and is also hard on the nurses.
Kristina has cared for a few patients who have been hospitalized with their spouses and then subsequently lost their spouse to Covid. The support she has provided them has been exceptional. In particular, Kristina recently cared for a patient who was in the ICU at the same time as his wife. Both were Covid positive. This patient was intubated and was extremely ill. While he was intubated, his wife passed away in the ICU. He learned of her death after he was extubated, but the funeral services had already been completed.
The patient was transferred to Kristina's floor shortly after learning about his wife's passing, and clearly had not absorbed the shock of it all. The day after he was transferred, he was watching the funeral services for his wife on the computer via a link on the funeral home's website. Kristina saw this through the door and got in her PPE to go in and sit with the patient while he watched so that he didn't have to go through that alone. She talked with him in detail about his wife, and let him grieve. He was very emotional and expressed the next day that he would not have been able to get through that difficult time had it not been for Kristina taking the time to sit with him. In a matter of 3 days, this patient's world turned completely upside-down. He could not say enough about how much Kristina's company meant to him.
Kristina is one of the most empathetic people I have ever worked with. She gives so much of her heart to her patients, every single day. To be able to care for the medical needs of a patient very ill with Covid, and also provide the level of emotional support to one who is grieving such a sudden loss, is no easy task, and yet every day Kristina is representative of the type of nurse we all aspire to be. I truly hope that she is recognized for this outstanding job.
Kristina has cared for a few patients who have been hospitalized with their spouses and then subsequently lost their spouse to Covid. The support she has provided them has been exceptional. In particular, Kristina recently cared for a patient who was in the ICU at the same time as his wife. Both were Covid positive. This patient was intubated and was extremely ill. While he was intubated, his wife passed away in the ICU. He learned of her death after he was extubated, but the funeral services had already been completed.
The patient was transferred to Kristina's floor shortly after learning about his wife's passing, and clearly had not absorbed the shock of it all. The day after he was transferred, he was watching the funeral services for his wife on the computer via a link on the funeral home's website. Kristina saw this through the door and got in her PPE to go in and sit with the patient while he watched so that he didn't have to go through that alone. She talked with him in detail about his wife, and let him grieve. He was very emotional and expressed the next day that he would not have been able to get through that difficult time had it not been for Kristina taking the time to sit with him. In a matter of 3 days, this patient's world turned completely upside-down. He could not say enough about how much Kristina's company meant to him.
Kristina is one of the most empathetic people I have ever worked with. She gives so much of her heart to her patients, every single day. To be able to care for the medical needs of a patient very ill with Covid, and also provide the level of emotional support to one who is grieving such a sudden loss, is no easy task, and yet every day Kristina is representative of the type of nurse we all aspire to be. I truly hope that she is recognized for this outstanding job.