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In the Loop: Care team honors patient’s last minutes of life
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Life as a care provider on 6 Mary Brigh at the Saint Marys campus of Mayo Clinic Hospital — Rochester is not for the faint of heart. "Many of our patients come to us very critically ill," says Janelle Wozniak, a registered nurse on the floor's medical intensive care unit.
To support patients who are in their final days, the unit recently tried something new. Two "support carts" were filled with items that staff hope will bring a bit of comfort to patients and their families. The carts include prayer shawls, warm socks, prayer stones, games and other activities. And not long ago, one more item was added to that list.
It came about early one morning, when a prayer shawl from the support cart was placed over a patient whose health was declining. "He lit up because he thought it was an American flag," Wozniak tells us. "After we explained what it was, he told us he was a veteran and that he'd love to have a flag laid on top of him as he passed." Read the rest of the story.
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This story originally appeared on the In the Loop blog.
