Delivering a child prematurely can be a very scary time for any parent. Luckily, Stacey Johnson from Pass Christian had a nurse who she says went above and beyond to make her delivery less worrisome. She felt she needed some way to recognize this special nurse.
So, Stacey and her husband did what any grateful patient would do: they pinned her.
It is usually through personal gestures such as cards or candy that Memorial Hospital patients thank those who have helped them. But now, the Memorial Hospital Foundation has introduced a Guardian Angel program that lets patients recognize hospital staff by making a donation in their name. The staff member is then presented with a guardian angel lapel pin in front of their peers and co-workers.
Stacy Kreher, RN in Labor and Delivery at Memorial Hospital, is the first recipient of this prestigious award. “I am very honored to receive this award,” said Kreher. “The Johnson’s were wonderful people and I just wanted to do what I could to give them peace of mind that everything was going to be alright.” Stacey Johnson and her husband Chris are the proud parents of a healthy baby girl, Samantha. They say the reason they made the donation is because their nurse Stacy “is just a wonderful, caring nurse who went above and beyond normal patient care.”
The idea for this program came from a similar program at a hospital in Ottawa, Canada.
There is no minimum donation to recognize a staff member. “We want every patient to feel welcome to participate in this program,” says Dave Estorge, president of the Foundation. Any staff member can be nominated as a Guardian Angel.
“The funds received from this program will enable Memorial Hospital to continue to offer the very best in healthcare services to the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” said Estorge.
Postage free envelopes are located throughout the hospital, or you can go online to the hospital’s website, www.gulfportmemorial.com, to make a donation.