Taken with permission from Hardwiring Excellence, by Quint Studer

a letter from a patient's daughter

Dear [],

My father died at your hospital. It wasn't a matter of if he was going to die, but when. He was in your extended care facility. I'm his only living relative. I was all that he had. My constant worry was that I wouldn't be there when he died. I tried to be at the hospital every moment, but I simply couldn't be there 24 hours a day.

I wasn't there one day and I received a call from a nurse who said, "You need to get here right away." I jumped in my car and got caught in a traffic jam. I pulled up to the hospital and ran inside. As soon as I got to the nursing unit, they told me my father was dead.

But when I went into the room, I saw a nurse there with him. She was sitting down. And holding my father's hand. That nurse told me that my father wasn't alone when he died. She was there. she also told me that my father loved me.

Do you know what a great nurse you have at your hospital?

(Quint goes on the explain that the nurse's shift had actually ended when she decided to stay. Knowing the financial challenges the hospital faced, the nurse swiped her card and stayed with the patient on her own time. Her values would not let her leave.)