Rosie McMahan
July 2019
Rosie
McMahan
,
BSN, RN
General Surgery
Barnes-Jewish Hospital
St. Louis
,
MO
United States

 

 

 

We have a young patient on our floor who has been with us several times. Rosie has been connected to this patient since the initial visit. The patient is a 30-year-old developmentally delayed patient who lives at a facility with a legal guardian and no family or visitors who come to visit. Rosie always went above and beyond to make this patient feel special and loved. She treated this patient like a younger sister. She would always make time to take the patient outside, have girl parties to encourage her to shower. She would also stay with the patient after her shift to read to her.
The patient took a turn for the worse and was no longer a surgical candidate due to the high risk and poor outcome. Rosie fought daily to make this patient comfortable. She would visit on her days off to spend time with the patient, even if it meant sitting quietly with the patient. The patient was transitioned to hospice and Rosie made more of a point to visit the patient to make her feel comfortable and loved at the end of her life.
The patient was terrified, but Rosie was so calming with the patient and even made her laugh to get her mind off being in the hospital. The patient would say how happy she was when Rosie was around and would continually ask the other nurses where she was. The impact Rosie made on this patient was incredible. It was comforting to know this patient spent her final days knowing she is loved and comforted in one of Rosie's blankets from home.