Mara Vande Pol demonstrated extraordinary care to a cancer patient and her family by providing the resources necessary to ensure the patient's last 48 hours on this earth were surrounded by family and loved ones in her own home. The compassion and patience she sincerely expressed to her patient and family was all encompassing and felt throughout the room when you entered it. She was able to bring a sense of peace and calm to this family who had been through an incredible cancer journey over the prior 2 months.

Recently, Mara had some concerns about the management of one of her patients who happened to have an oncology diagnosis. She quickly recognized that the patient's care was being compromised by the fact that her condition was deteriorating quickly and she and her family were not able to make appropriate decisions. In addition, the hospitalist service had not contacted her oncologist to assist with plan of care. As the patient's condition worsened, Mara utilized the resources available to her and sought out the oncology program coordinator to assist with plan of care. She provided the coordinator (me) with an excellent report on the patient to get me up to speed with the case.

The patient was Spanish speaking and only a few relatives spoke English. Mara was careful to ensure that the family and patient were comfortable and cared for. She assisted me with interpreter phone and remained in the room at the patient's side while I navigated the family through a series of conversations regarding plan of care and code status. She displayed an incredible amount of concern and compassion for this patient and the family. Despite her valiant efforts, the family was not able to come to a decision, but was at least appropriately informed regarding the patient's medical status. The family and patient requested to wait until the husband arrived from Mexico the next morning to make final decisions on plan of care.

In the meantime, I was able to discuss the case with the oncologist and when the patient's husband arrived from Mexico the next day, Mara called me and informed me. She set up an immediate family meeting to address the patient's continually deteriorating condition. She was appropriately assertive with the physician to ensure she would come and speak with the family to get decisions made quickly. Mara displayed an incredible level of patience with the family and physician as we navigated through the translation process on the blue interpreter phone. She meticulously documented the interpreter's number on each of the multiple phone calls over a 16 hour time period. Once it was determined that the patient did not want any additional treatment, she coordinated with case management and the patient went home on hospice the same day. The patient died peacefully within 24 hours of returning home surrounded by her family.

I was impressed with her critical thinking skills, decision making capacity, and ability to access the appropriate resources to efficiently manage a very complicated case. She was able to satisfy the needs of the patient and family and truly made a difference in the life of this patient. She displayed an incredible ability to work collaboratively with physicians, nurses, and case management to see this case to through.

Mara Vande Pol is an extraordinary nurse and a true role model for other staff members. She deserves The DAISY Award.