When a young couple recently came in for surgery at TOSH the wife of the patient came to the check-in desk looking distressed. She had a lot of anxiety about her husband’s procedure and was clearly emotional. She told Kelly Simpson, a service representative, about a difficult family situation the couple was going through as well. The patient’s wife said the couple only had each other to count on.
Kelly Simpson
“I talked with her for a while to reassure her that he’d be fine,” Kelly says. “I also suggested she go get some breakfast and relax. She asked if they take food stamps at the cafeteria, because that’s all they had. I wanted to make sure she could have a good breakfast to help put her at ease.”
Kelly knew that the cafeteria didn’t accept food stamps, so she went to the café to get a meal voucher for the guest. Working with Amber Strength, nutrition services manager, they approached the woman and invited her to the café and set her up with breakfast and some food to take home for snacks and dinner. The patient’s wife was noticeably put at ease and a difficult experience became a little bit easier because of a simple gesture of offering a food voucher.
“When we take the time to identify the needs of our patients and visitors, we’re able to respond to those needs with empathy and compassion,” says Lindsay Bernard, RN, Intermountain patient advocate. “Kelly took the time to listen and connect with this family member and found a way to improve her experience.”
Share your example of a compassionate connection and learn more on the Compassionate Connections website.