Critical care nurses, who work in ICUs, frequently have to deal with stressful moments in their daily routine.
Besides taking caring of patients with serious conditions, the nurses often have to console the families to relieve them of the trauma and pain caused by the hospitalization of their loved ones.
Many a time, these skilled, determined, and hardworking women even have to comfort people grieving the loss of a loved one.
Talking of which, a team of intensive care unit nurses at TriHealth Bethesda North Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, have come up with a heartwarming way to deal with such difficult situations.
Going above and beyond what their job requires them to do, the Bethesda nurses bring comfort to traumatized families by offering thoughtful, compassionate gifts to them.
Jennifer Conger, a nurse at the hospital, told WKRC: “We do things that people wouldn’t even imagine.”
The nurses offer stuffed Build-a-Bear, bought and built with their own money and time, to distressed families in their darkest hours.
Before giving them away, the ICU nurses personalize each gift to make it a truly priceless commodity.
When they feel someone’s condition to be fatal, they record a patient’s heartbeat and embed it into the bear’s hand as a lasting memory for the grieving family.
Conger believes that helping distressed families after their loved ones die is an essential part of her job.
It’s national #NursesWeek! Wait till you see how @TriHealth is helping with #buildabear! Today at 5:30p pic.twitter.com/oYGAI0y4Pe
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“Sometimes, what everything we do for a patient isn’t necessarily so that they can come home, but so that the family can be OK with what’s actually going to happen,” she said.
Upon receiving a bear, the family is able to hear the recording of their loved one’s heartbeat. And, no doubt, there can’t be a bigger gift than it.
A note attached to the bear reads: “Deepest of Sympathy to you and yours during this difficult time.
“When someone you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure. Please accept this treasure from our hearts to yours.”
The director for critical care at the hospital, Stacy Kelly, said the loving gesture help people through their difficult times.
“For me, the bear represents love, hope and compassion and shines a bright light on an otherwise very dark day,” she said.
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