Katrina May was the nurse assigned to a patient in the MICU that was acutely ill. Knowing that the patient had a pet at home, Katrina thought that the patient may benefit from “pet therapy”. As a “pet therapy handler” herself, Katrina knew all too well the benefits of “pet therapy” in the hospital environment. You see, Katrina was hopeful that by introducing “pet therapy” to the patient, it may be physically and emotionally beneficial in the patient’s recovery. She contacted her father who is also a “pet therapy handler”, to ask if he could make a visit to this special patient. Her father agreed. Because “pet therapy” is not normally performed in the ICU, Katrina coordinated moving the patient to another unit within the hospital so the patient could experience “pet therapy”.
This of course took coordination of Nursing staff, Charge Nurses from two different nursing units, Respiratory Therapy, Physicians, Nursing Leadership and ultimately family support and approval. Once the patient was moved and “Violet”, the therapy dog, entered the room, the patient spoke his first words; “I have a dog”. Those words were the first words that the patient’s parents had heard since the patient became acutely ill. Because of Katrina’s compassion, she was able to assist this patient on the road to recovery. The patient and the family were grateful for Katrina’s compassion and thoughtfulness.
This is an outstanding example of how “Service is Our Passion” is exemplified by our DAISY Award Recipient, Katrina May, BSN.