National Nurses Week is a celebration and recognition of the invaluable contributions nurses make to patient care. This is the third in a series of stories highlighting a few of the many exceptional nurses at Novant Health, as chosen by their peers for going above and beyond in caring for patients.
Andrea Connick, a nurse with the critical care team at Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center, sees first-hand the difficult choices many patients and family members have to make.
Connick has been recognized with a DAISY Award for the warm attention she showed a patient’s spouse who lost her husband in a do-not-resuscitate situation. A DAISY Award is a nationwide program that honors extraordinary nurses for the incredible work they do every day. The wife of the patient was grateful that Connick was there to support her in the intensive care unit, talking to her and helping her as she made the difficult decision to not resuscitate her husband.
“I knew it was the right thing to do, but it was so hard knowing that he would be gone forever,” the woman said in a letter. “With just one decision, the one person that I truly loved with all my heart, my husband, soulmate and best friend, would be gone.”
The wife said she felt blessed to have Connick by her side as she made her agonizing decision. “She was my angel and was so patient with me,” the patient’s wife said. Connick showed remarkable empathy and compassion for a family member who was hurting so deeply.