It really, really does....

Remember all those disastrous visits to my local hospital?

When I visited my Aunt the day before she passed away,  I couldn't help but compare my own experience with that of my Aunt's.

She was admitted to a hospital in downtown Vancouver.....  where I had worked more than five years ago....and the place I was born more than fifty-five years ago.

The building is full of mold in the walls and ceilings due to the poor construction - I know of many instances where leaks developed from floors further up and in fact one or two evacuations due to flooding out of one half of the unit - and that was the newer part of the hospital. 

The entire 6 years I worked there, I don't remember one time that there weren't tiles missing on the ceiling above the central nurses' station.  On the way to the NICU you could look straight up at all the venting and wiring.

For a good decade now, there has been talk of tearing the present building down and building elsewhere several blocks away.  I believe that some of my respiratory problems are a result of time spent in that building.  I feel no sentiment at all despite the fact my life began there.

So, knowing this, you would think that this hospital would have staff problems.

Quite the opposite, depending on what floor you worked on.  I was certainly happy for a good portion of the time on the unit I worked.

My Aunt was on the 7th floor,  the unit comprised mostly of  patients whose last stop it was before the morgue.

My aunt's nurse for both days was a little Filipina gal with a sweet disposition.  She introduced herself and her fellow LPN.    While I sat with my aunt, holding her hand, the RN came in many times to ask if she needed anything, and to ask did she seem to be in pain? and could you ask her in case she responds to you differently?

She was very gentle with her, and in turning her made sure she communicated the entire time.  She explained what she was doing whenever she came in.   She asked if we needed anything for my aunt,  and made sure we knew when she went on her break and introduced the nurse taking over for that period of time. 

Even the other nurses were wonderful.  When I requested a comb so I could do my aunt's hair (she was not sent in with any of her personal items when brought in by ambulance from the home), the nurse gladly got one, smiled and said - let me know if you need anything else....

The IV Team came to start an IV because there were antibiotics going in the present IV and a secondary line was required for a blood transfusion.  I told her good luck - there wasn't  much to choose from - but why don't you put in a small bore where you can and have them transfer the present abx line to the smaller bore and flush the larger current bore and use it for the transfusion? 

By the date on the site, it would have to be discontinued in 24 hours anyway, so might as well move the long term IV over to the new site.   She never blinked an eye at a family member making a suggestion.  Great idea, she said - smiled - and promptly inserted a small bore - less pain for my aunt....easier for her... win/win I would say. 

When I called the next day and the same nurse was on...she came to the phone to tell me how she was - and knew me by name before I even told her who it was.   She knew my uncle - my aunt's brother - by name and told me he had also been by -  plus another cousin.

When my aunt passed, she took the phone when I called and let me know..... and said I am so sorry for your loss and if there was anything that I could do..... and when I cried on the phone the RN comforted me......she wasn't in pain when she passed, and the doctor was with her.......

Some people look at a building and see beautiful architecture and stones and waterfalls and artwork and say "What a nice hospital".    

For me, a great hospital isn't the mortar and the brick - it's the heart of those that work there....the RNs that really care, the workers that go out of their way to make you feel like a human being and someone worth caring for. 

The smile flashed, the kind word, the  gentle touch and the simple gestures .... to those in pain ....it means the world.

And even though you might think that those small things you do doesn't seem to make a difference - I have to tell you from experience on the other end -  it really, really does.