A patient was brought to the ER by her son and daughter-in-law, who were exhausted and at their breaking point. The patient had a history of dementia and had not slept in days, and walked the floors moaning and yelling. It was discovered that the patient had stage 4 lymphoma, which the family and MPOA were unaware of.

After Dr. O spoke with the family, they wished to place the patient in a long-term care facility or hospice care. Being a Saturday night at nearly midnight, there were no options for intake into an LTC facility. Nurse Traci Furby suggested home Hospice until placement could be arranged. Traci got on the phone, calling peers and waking people up to get a home Hospice care intake arranged for early Sunday morning. The patient was subsequently taken to a Hospice house, where she passed peacefully a few days later.

Both Dr. O and the son (MPOA) were extremely grateful for Traci's advocacy and for using her experience and contacts to achieve a positive outcome for a patient and family who needed compassion during a time of desperation and exhaustion. To quote Dr. O, "It was incredible to see Traci so determined to make something positive happen for a family that needed it." In the words of the patient's son, "I didn't know anyone still cared about people as much as your ER. That nurse, Traci, was incredible. She made sure Mom got everything she needed for peace and comfort and helped us understand what was going on with her."

Both Mr. C and Dr. O asked if there was a way to recognize this hardworking nurse. With that, I am honored to recommend Broaddus ER team member Traci Furby, RN, for this award on behalf of a grateful family and physician.