Tiffany Allen, BSN, RN

We received a patient from an outside hospital to evaluate and work up the patient for a heart transplant. She was very sick and remained under our care for nearly a month on ECMO support. The patient underwent surgery after receiving an offer for a heart transplant. However, during the operation, some complications required the surgeons to abort the transplant attempt and fix her aorta instead. She eventually succumbed to an acute intracranial hemorrhage, and hospice became involved for withdrawal of care and life support. This patient was only 29 years old, and she had two little children, ages six and one.
As devastating and heartbreaking as this situation is, Tiffany demonstrated compassion and empathy during such a difficult time of withdrawal for a young patient. She bought canvas and paint of her own volition and dipped the patient's hands (with family permission) in paint and pressed them on the canvas to create a keepsake of their mom for her children to possess and cherish forever. A beautiful embodiment of the values of the DAISY Award and a demonstration of the type of commitment to the delivery of outstanding patient care and experience we strive to achieve here in Cleveland Clinic SICU.