December 2014
Nancy
Kahn
,
RN
Hospice Home Care
Hospice of Cincinnati
Cincinnati
,
OH
United States

 

 

 

My grandfather passed away peacefully at home. The nurse on-call was called to confirm time of death, complete the required paperwork, and assist the family. Nancy Kahn was the nurse on-call that night. She was a true comfort to my aunt, myself, my sister and my cousin in our time of grief. She had never met "the patient" or us but she cared for both him and us with professionalism, kindness, compassion and respect. During her multiple required phone calls to various government agencies, she always chatted with us about his "life" while she was on hold. She made a genuine effort to get to know more about him and us during her two hours at home with us. She guided us through each next step, treating us as true partners in his final end-of-life care. She allowed those of us who wanted, to stay with him throughout the process of line removal and general postmortem care. As a veteran nurse of nearly 20 years, I truly appreciated the opportunity to care for my loved one in such a way - something I never would of thought to offer to family members when I had been an inpatient floor nurse. But, it helped me find closure in the moment with the process.

Nancy truly exemplified the essence of a DAISY nurse. She stayed with us much longer than was "required" to make sure that we were "okay" before she left us that evening. Words cannot express how truly grateful we are that she arrived on our doorstep that night.