Honoring a patient’s treasured family moment

A patient hospitalized at UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital with a terminal illness often shared her one wish with the care team: To see her son graduate with his doctoral degree.

“She knew she was dying. We all knew she was dying. Her goal was to make it to that date,” said Ashley Jones, charge nurse with the PVH progressive care unit.

As graduation day approached, it was also clear that she would not be able to attend the ceremony in-person.

“We got to that week, and it was like, ‘She made it. We have to celebrate this,’” said Julia Anderson, PCU nurse.

To recognize the special moment for the patient and her family, Jones and Anderson created a setting for the celebration in the hospital room. They transformed it with themed decorations for the ceiling, walls and windows. They brought in cupcakes and non-alcoholic champagne.

The patient was able to watch the ceremony through a video feed on her laptop. And that evening, the entire night shift lined the hallway and applauded as the patient’s son arrived in his cap and gown to see her.

“She was incredibly grateful. She just kept saying how much it meant to her,” Jones said, adding that days later, “decorations stayed up in her room.”

Jones first joined UCHealth as a CNA in 2012 and became a nurse in 2017. Anderson first joined UCHealth as a nurse in 2019. Both said they had considered other professions but chose nursing for the opportunity for hands-on care with patients.

Anderson said the entire PCU deserves credit for the way this patient was treated.

“I’ve never seen a unit work together and care for patients so deeply,” she said. “That’s what this unit is all about: Working hard and making people feel special.”

Jones added that the special attention the patient received, as the end of her life approached, is “a testament to the team on the PCU and taking good care of her.”