Tori Sullivan
April 2021
Victoria
Sullivan
,
RN
Med-Surgical
Forrest General Hospital
Hattiesburg
,
MS
United States

 

 

 

It took Tori multiple phone calls and quite a bit of time to work out all the details and get everything done, but before the end of the day, she was able to get the patient transferred in time for the family to be with her when she passed.
Victoria Sullivan, or “Tori” as we all know her, has only been a nurse for about a year, and as luck would have it, the floor she chose to begin her career turned out to be the COVID floor. Over the past year, Tori has shown a level of compassion and professionalism well beyond her years.

A recent example of her compassion was shown when we had an elderly patient who was transferred to FGH from a hospital near Jackson because all of the other hospitals were on diversion. After Tori took report and assessed her patient, she realized that the patient was not doing well and probably didn’t have long to live. The physician had communicated with the family by phone, and the patient was made a DNR. Tori called the family to let them know that their mother wasn’t doing well, and she encouraged them to come and see her before she passed.

The patient’s family member told her that they were unable to come, because they didn’t have a running car and there was no one to bring them to the hospital. Tori could have easily accepted that and gone on about her day, but she worked hard to find a way for the family to be able to say goodbye. She called the Nursing Supervisor to discuss possibly sending someone to get the family and bring them down here; then they decided to try to get the patient transferred back to a hospital near her home. It took Tori multiple phone calls and quite a bit of time to work out all the details and get everything done, but before the end of the day, she was able to get the patient transferred in time for the family to be with her when she passed. This act of compassion and kindness exemplifies the heart of nursing. The actions Tori took that day allowed the patient to die surrounded by her family, and it allowed the children an opportunity to say goodbye to their mother.

This is just one example of Tori’s commitment to providing the best possible care to her patients. She is constantly communicating, teaching, and advocating for her patients. With her practice of the Art and Science of Nursing, Tori Sullivan exemplifies the qualities that are celebrated with the DAISY Award.