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Nurses are both the backbone and heart of our care

The patient, a father of three, had suffered a catastrophic brain bleed from which there was no recovery.

His nurse, Helen Ngai, who had been caring for him during the night shift at the 7 South ICU at Keck Hospital of USC, was devastated when she learned there was no hope. Her heart went out not only to the patient, but to his three sons, who would be left without their dad. What could she do to help comfort them 鈥� especially the youngest boy, she wondered.

A mother of six, Helen had spent many happy hours at Build-A-Bear stores with her children building custom stuffed animals. She knew that it was possible to add personalized recordings into the toys, which gave her an idea.

She recorded the father鈥檚 heartbeat using a digital stethoscope. Then, after her shift ended, she visited not one, but two, Build-A-Bear stores to select a bear for the boy and have a high-quality recording of the heartbeat placed inside it.

She then returned to Keck Hospital to give the child the bear, telling him, 鈥淣ow you will be able to hear your father鈥檚 heartbeat for the rest of your life.鈥�

Helen鈥檚 efforts to support a family in crisis is just one example of the extraordinary care our nurses provide throughout the health system.

Nurses are the backbone of our health system. They are expertly trained and highly skilled; and their medical expertise is the foundation upon which so many of our services and procedures rest.

They鈥檙e also the heart of our care. Because nurses spend so much time with patients in the hospital or treatment rooms, they often forge special bonds with our patients. It鈥檚 no coincidence that so many of the thank you notes we receive are for our nurses.

They go above and beyond every day; from the small details, such as easing a patient into hospital life, to the grander gestures 鈥� throwing hospital weddings for patients, arranging for special guest visitors such as USC football players to brighten their day or bringing them special meals.

And as Helen鈥檚 story illustrates, much of nursing co-exists with sadness when patients don鈥檛 recover. Yet our nurses persevere when faced with the many profound challenges that accompany this important role.

Clinical nurse specialist Melinda Mayorga has created a Sacred Pause program at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center to help our nurses navigate some of these difficult issues and better process the grief that comes when they bond with cancer patients who pass away. 

Supported by Awa Jones,chief nursing officer of USC Norris Cancer Hospital, and the operations department, she and a multidisciplinary team developed a set of resources that include religious/spiritual prayers, grief support sessions and a ceremonial outdoor space with memorial rocks to honor patients.  

Nurse Jennifer Pavon helped by pre-painting the rocks with beautiful scenes for staff to choose from that they could then personalize. So far, our nurses and other staff have painted and placed more than 300 rocks in the Sacred Garden.

This week is National Nurses Week, a special time for all of us to express our gratitude for our nurses. I extend my heartfelt thanks for their selfless dedication and appreciate them each and every day for their blend of skill, compassion and courage.

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