December 2024
Stephanie
Church
,
RN, BSN, CCRN, CCTC, VAD-C
Heart Transplant
Seattle Children's
seattle
,
WA
United States
She has repeatedly coordinated communication between us and the doctors, liaised with the anti-coagulation team when necessary, and alerted the ER ahead of our arrivals.
Stephanie is an amazing VAD coordinator. She has always had so much patience and compassion not only for the patients, but also for VAD nurses as well. She has trained all of us on VADs, walked us through VAD dressing changes, and provided support on the units whenever possible. I could not do my job as well without Stephanie around!
***
I would like to nominate Stephanie Church, the VAD coordinator at the Heart Center. I have worked with Stephanie for years, but she has taken this role above and beyond the basic job description. I only see her work in the ICU, but she also works in the outpatient clinic and acute care, following our VAD patients wherever they may go. My perspective is only highlighting a portion of her work, so whatever I write should be magnified and multiplied to account for her other places of work.
First of all, she is the calmest, warmest, and kindest person. Whenever approached about anything, she takes the time to make you feel seen and heard. No question is below her. She teaches the basic concepts all the way up to the minutiae expertly and eloquently. She understands our VADs better than some of the device representatives. She explains things to families and staff in language that we can all understand.
Second, her love language is clearly quality time. Her dedication to the role and commitment to the families is unbelievable. She frequently stays over late, occasionally overnight. I can guarantee that she consistently works way more than her 40 hours a week that she is hired for. She never rushes any procedure, conversation, or task. She is thorough and sees it through. I found her in the snack area the other day, eating a quick cheese and cracker snack, and she made the comment, "This is the first food I've eaten in 24 hours!" This was after staying up all night in the OR with our patient on the Berlin.
Third, she provides an indispensable and unmatched support to the ICU nursing team with her expertise and help. She rarely misses rounds on her VAD patients. She goes on all the road trips, even though the ICU nurse technically could go on some of them by themselves. She frequently does the VAD dressing changes for the nurses, which is also technically our job. She provides just-in-time training and education to us. She is a very visible and present leader and a support to us in CICU.
I could go on and on, but I think you can get the picture. She is invaluable to us and our success as a VAD program in the Heart Center. We love you so much, Stephanie!
***
Stephanie Church came into our lives when we began exploring options for our son J’s heart failure. She met us both in the clinic and during a hospital stay, patiently answering every question we had about LVADs and the realities of living with one. Her enthusiasm, dedication to teaching, and willingness to stay until we were fully informed won our hearts.
When we decided to proceed with surgery, Stephanie became a constant presence, attending every monthly check-up and coordinating J's cardiac appointments. Little did we know just how indispensable she would become.
Throughout the transplant evaluation and LVAD surgery, Stephanie visited us daily, often multiple times a day. She supported J through every procedure and trained nurses on using the LVAD. J, in turn, helped nurses understand his settings and perform Doppler MAPs.
Stephanie supports countless patients and families, yet she has a unique gift for making each one feel like her sole focus. She has become like family to us, and we trust her implicitly, often turning to her first when we have concerns.
She has repeatedly coordinated communication between us and the doctors, liaised with the anti-coagulation team when necessary, and alerted the ER ahead of our arrivals. Those calls have ensured the team was prepared for Josiah upon our arrival. While it's a privilege to have a swift pass to an ER room for medically complex kids, it's a privilege we wish no family ever needed.
Additionally, Stephanie ensures we have all the necessary supplies, including dressing change materials and new LVAD bags when needed.
We could go on and on about Stephanie and all that she brings to the team, patients, and caregivers, as she is truly a phenomenal human being and nurse!
***
I would like to nominate Stephanie Church, the VAD coordinator at the Heart Center. I have worked with Stephanie for years, but she has taken this role above and beyond the basic job description. I only see her work in the ICU, but she also works in the outpatient clinic and acute care, following our VAD patients wherever they may go. My perspective is only highlighting a portion of her work, so whatever I write should be magnified and multiplied to account for her other places of work.
First of all, she is the calmest, warmest, and kindest person. Whenever approached about anything, she takes the time to make you feel seen and heard. No question is below her. She teaches the basic concepts all the way up to the minutiae expertly and eloquently. She understands our VADs better than some of the device representatives. She explains things to families and staff in language that we can all understand.
Second, her love language is clearly quality time. Her dedication to the role and commitment to the families is unbelievable. She frequently stays over late, occasionally overnight. I can guarantee that she consistently works way more than her 40 hours a week that she is hired for. She never rushes any procedure, conversation, or task. She is thorough and sees it through. I found her in the snack area the other day, eating a quick cheese and cracker snack, and she made the comment, "This is the first food I've eaten in 24 hours!" This was after staying up all night in the OR with our patient on the Berlin.
Third, she provides an indispensable and unmatched support to the ICU nursing team with her expertise and help. She rarely misses rounds on her VAD patients. She goes on all the road trips, even though the ICU nurse technically could go on some of them by themselves. She frequently does the VAD dressing changes for the nurses, which is also technically our job. She provides just-in-time training and education to us. She is a very visible and present leader and a support to us in CICU.
I could go on and on, but I think you can get the picture. She is invaluable to us and our success as a VAD program in the Heart Center. We love you so much, Stephanie!
***
Stephanie Church came into our lives when we began exploring options for our son J’s heart failure. She met us both in the clinic and during a hospital stay, patiently answering every question we had about LVADs and the realities of living with one. Her enthusiasm, dedication to teaching, and willingness to stay until we were fully informed won our hearts.
When we decided to proceed with surgery, Stephanie became a constant presence, attending every monthly check-up and coordinating J's cardiac appointments. Little did we know just how indispensable she would become.
Throughout the transplant evaluation and LVAD surgery, Stephanie visited us daily, often multiple times a day. She supported J through every procedure and trained nurses on using the LVAD. J, in turn, helped nurses understand his settings and perform Doppler MAPs.
Stephanie supports countless patients and families, yet she has a unique gift for making each one feel like her sole focus. She has become like family to us, and we trust her implicitly, often turning to her first when we have concerns.
She has repeatedly coordinated communication between us and the doctors, liaised with the anti-coagulation team when necessary, and alerted the ER ahead of our arrivals. Those calls have ensured the team was prepared for Josiah upon our arrival. While it's a privilege to have a swift pass to an ER room for medically complex kids, it's a privilege we wish no family ever needed.
Additionally, Stephanie ensures we have all the necessary supplies, including dressing change materials and new LVAD bags when needed.
We could go on and on about Stephanie and all that she brings to the team, patients, and caregivers, as she is truly a phenomenal human being and nurse!