Exceptional Experiences at Community Health Network

The January Hot Shot was Megan Caffrey, AP/PSP2, who works at Community Hospital South on the med/surg unit. Megan was the patient support partner for a young woman who was eight days postpartum with two other toddlers at home. She had a chest tube and was told she would have to stay through the holidays to have surgery on the Friday after Thanksgiving, something she was desperately hoping to avoid.

With a patient who was nearly inconsolable, Caffrey asked her managers and the hospital concierge, Katy Stallings, if it would be possible to put together an impromptu Thanksgiving meal for this patient and her family. She contacted dietary to make arrangements for the food; collaborated with maintenance to set up a table in the patient’s room; and even picked up a centerpiece and small gifts for all three children from their mom. Finally, Caffrey obtained a set of scrubs from the OB unit so the patient wouldn’t have to eat in a hospital gown and she would appear more ‘normal’ to her children.

Caffrey says, “It was very touching for me to watch such a ‘Hallmark’ moment. The mother was grateful and thanked me and all the staff members for creating a special moment for her.”

“The room was beautiful and the entire third floor smelled of turkey,” says Jackie Alexander, the clinical manager who nominated Caffrey for the Hot Shot award. “I cannot even describe the happiness shown on the patient’s face as she sat at the table eating Thanksgiving dinner with her family.”

“I want to thank Megan for her ability to seek out this awesome opportunity to provide an absolutely exceptional experience for our patient and her family,” adds Alexander. “And during my own Thanksgiving, I gave thanks for the opportunity to work with the great people I work with every day.”

Though Caffrey is known as someone who typically goes above and beyond on a regular basis, this particular instance truly stood out as a time when she made it a special priority to create an exceptional patient and family experience for this woman and her family.

Caffrey says, “Nursing is sort of the ‘family business’; I never had much say in it. My great-grandmother and my grandmother on my father’s side were nurses, each serving as a nurse during World War II.” She plans to finish up her own nursing degree at Ivy Tech to continue the family tradition.

The other nominees for January include: Jennifer Gibson, Catherine Moore, Pauline McMurray, Kitty Popelwell, Dana Newby, Pat Harmon, Leon Ward, Amanda Moore, Michael Lamson, Jeffrey Bell, Ruthie Duncan, Richard Jones, Linda Marlow, Laura Storm