Stacee Dohm, RN, F6 – Medical Specialties Unit
Please join the Center for Nursing Excellence in congratulating Stacee Dohm, RN, for being selected as the DAISY Award recipient for the month of October!
Stacee Dohm, RN, works in F6 – Medical Specialties Unit, and was nominated by a family member of a patient. The nomination below reflects how Stacee impacted their life in a very special way.
Nomination: On July 8, 2024, I called EMS for my mother after a fall with head injury at home. My mother’s health had been on the decline for some time, and she was now frail and intermittently confused. During a lucid period in the ED, she told the doctor she did not want to be intubated and did not want dialysis. She deteriorated in the hospital rather quickly. She became more confused, her speech more unintelligible, and her behavior more combative. In 48 hours, she went from an ED patient to a hospice patient and moved from the ICU to progressive care to F6. My mother was now DNR comfort care. On Wednesday, July 10 I called from home before arriving to the hospital to find out how she was doing. I didn’t get to speak to the nurse and was told she was giving my mother a bath. When I arrived at the hospital, she was sleeping so peacefully. Her bedding was all clean and white with no more traces of blood from her head wound or the multiple skin tears of her fragile skin. Her hair was combed. She had on a fresh gown. Her dentures were removed and in cups. Oral care supplies were at the bedside with signs some had been used and discarded. Her multiple skin tears had been covered with protective dressings. There was no trash in the room, everything was tidy. But most importantly, my mother was peacefully sleeping which is something I’d not seen from her in about seven months. My mother had been in such pain from either her kyphosis, arthritis, her shoulder with deteriorating cartilage, her delicate skin that so easily bruised and various other miscellaneous discomforts. I had watched for months while she dozed off only to be awakened by some jolting pain from one body part or another. But now she was sleeping peacefully, and I was relieved for her. While I sat that evening and grappled with the rapid decline and made funeral plans in keeping with her wishes, I stopped from time to time to watch her sleep. She passed away that night in her sleep just before midnight. She was just breathing and then she wasn’t. It was the most peaceful death I had witnessed in my 28-year nursing career. I owe so much of that to Stacee. She took the time and care to do basic things…to bathe her, provide her with clean linens and pain medicine. While those things are not lifesaving to most, they were to my mother and to me. I watched her struggle to breathe as COPD ravaged her toward the end. I can’t tell you how small a bath is in the overall scheme of healthcare needs of patients. However, in that moment, at that time, Stacee gave me and most importantly my mother, exactly what was needed. She made it possible for my mother to be clean and comfortable and to die with dignity. Nursing isn’t always about saving lives. Nursing is also about treating patients with the care and respect that gives those small deeds such a huge impact. She knew exactly what my mother needed in those last hours, and she took the time to provide it. I will be forever grateful for the loving care she provided. Nominating her for the Daisy award doesn’t nearly seem enough. But I want her to know the impact she had. I just wanted to share my eternal, sincere thanks. My mother is a retired nurse you see. And she said many times how nursing has gotten away from caring for the patient and little things aren’t done anymore. I am so pleased that Stacee was able to prove my mother wrong and allow her to die with the type of tender care my mother provided to others when she was at the bedside. My thanks to Stacee from the bottom of my heart.
Great job, Stacee!
To learn more about The DAISY Award or to nominate a deserving licensed nurse, please visit: DAISY Award