Rebecca Miller, BSN, RN, a staff nurse from Pavilion 10 (Trauma ICU) at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, was announced as The DAISY Award winner for May 2024. Rebecca’s dedication to Cooper Nursing and the extraordinary care she provides to our Cooper patients earned her the following accolade.
“This nurse is special because she advocated for her patients’ dignified end of life care plan to come to fruition. This patient was an 89-year-old woman who was chronically ill with multiple disease processes, including chronic lung disease and an evolving gastrointestinal bleed. When she was received on this floor after a rapid response was called, her doctors began ordering multiple tests, including CT scans and blood draws. She was also placed on high-flow oxygen. The patient stated she did not want any of this and wanted to be with God. The nurse had a very open conversation with the patient and her son, informing the patient that she had the right to choose whether she wanted to participate in any of the testing. The patient stated that she did not want another test, needle, or anything else—she just wanted to close her eyes. The son mildly protested but then stated that he would never go against his mother’s wishes; he just wanted her to be comfortable. The nurse explained how special this moment was, in that we see so much death on a regular basis and family members rarely get the chance to say their goodbyes. The nurse reinforced how special this moment was that the patient was able to make her own decisions about end-of-life care, with the support of her family. She said “you get this day! We don’t see this enough; it’s a beautiful thing!” When the physicians returned to the patient’s room, the nurse stated, “we’re going to go with comfort care just like the patient wants.” After an awkward pause the physicians quickly came on board with the patient’s wishes. The fact that the nurse didn’t try to push the patient to going full steam ahead is a testament to the character and humbleness of this extremely passionate nurse. She described this time with the patient and family as a beautiful experience for all involved and is hopeful that end-of-life discussions in the future can continue to be the blessing that she experienced today. The patient passed peacefully and comfortably in a very short amount of time and her family was very grateful for the compassion the nurse showed to all involved.”
