SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital - Mt. Vernon issued the following announcement on Jan. 15.
Organ, tissue and eye donation is a gift that saves and heals thousands of lives each year. It’s a gift that relies on the generosity of others. Even with the best medicine and technology, transplantation is not possible without one person giving selflessly to another.
No more is this true than at St. Agnes Hospital, part of the Greater Fond du Lac Ministries, following the unfortunate passing of a young mother who had expressed her desire to be a donor through her Wisconsin driver’s license.
Upon her arrival, caregivers at St. Agnes Hospital, including those in the Intensive Care Unit, gave the best of care to the patient while also serving the needs of her family. When the patient was declared brain dead, team members pulled together in incredible and remarkable ways.
While working with the University of Wisconsin Organ and Tissue Donation service, staff –including nurses, spiritual care and others brainstormed ways to preserve the legacy of the young woman.
“We knew this mother had a young child and we wanted to do everything we could to preserve her memory and to build her legacy for her son as a hero,” says Chaplain Peter Capoyianes. “It was important to us that her son know down the road the number of lives that his mother saved.”
Women and Infants staff were able to make a cast of her hand and the Donate Life flag was raised by the maintenance team. As with other similar situations, the team captured an EKG strip and fingerprints.
“The response, like always, was incredible and very humbling,” Chaplain Peter recalls. “We came up with ideas and everyone wanted to know what they could do to help make it work.”
A nurse braided the mother’s hair and kept a lock of hair for the family.
“Everyone was there for the patient providing phenomenal care,” according to Chaplain Peter. “For many of us, we could relate as parents with young children and wanted to do everything we could to preserve her memory.”
But they knew they wanted to do more. Using iPads donated by the Agnesian HealthCare Foundation for patient/family online visits, the staff recorded the mother’s heartbeat. Chaplain Peter purchased a bear and transferred the recording to the stuffed animal.
Early in the night, staff socially distanced and assembled in the corridor between the Intensive Care Unit and surgery for an honor walk. “Our last several honor walks have been in the middle of the night,” Chaplain Peter says. “Every time, our team responds and fills the halls. Our Environmental Services team is always present -- a sea of red shirts. I cannot thank them enough for always wanting to be present.”
To see this and other examples of such widespread outpouring of love, support and the power of presence is commonplace within the Greater Fond du Lac Ministries and all our SSM Health ministries.
“This place is special,” Chaplain Peter explains. “We put out a call for service and departments and staff come back asking what they can do to support. The Greater Fond du Lac Ministries spirit is alive and well - a culture of giving and creativity.”
Kristy Krause, director of St. Agnes Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, agrees.
“It really takes a large team of caregivers, across multiple departments, to provide the gift of life through donation. In regard to the Intensive Care Unit, however, whenever we have patients that qualify as organ donors I am extremely proud of the compassionate care that the nurses provide to the patient and their family, supporting both however they can to fulfill the patient’s wish to donate and helping it become a reality for those who are waiting for such a gift. They care for these patients as if they are one of their own family members and do a wonderful job anticipating the needs of the family to help keep the legacy of that patient alive even after they have left our care.”
Original source can be found here.
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