Sometimes it’s the little things that mean the most to patients. Two kind gestures made by Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus 4A Nurse Megan Wentling, CMSRN, BSN, meant the world to a family facing a cancer diagnosis last year. It was the compassion Wentling showed this family that led to her being named the most recent DAISY Award winner for Bayhealth.
Wentling was nominated for the award by a fellow nurse, who observed Wentling’s care for the family. The patient was a husband with two young children and had recently been diagnosed with metastatic cancer. Knowing the patient was going to be in the hospital during Halloween because of his chemotherapy, Wentling got the boys Halloween baskets. This meant so much to the family that it was mentioned during a discharge phone call. On top of this, the patient was a big fan of Chuck Norris and often said he was going to go all “Chuck Norris on his cancer.” Wentling printed out pictures of Chuck Norris to hang in his room during treatment for motivation.
Receiving the award for caring for this particular patient means a lot to Wentling, who is certified to administer chemotherapy and also works in the Cancer Center. Diagnosed with a metastatic cancer, the man’s prognosis wasn’t great. While going through chemo on the unit, the man wasn’t able to walk and was lethargic. A year later, he’s receiving treatments at the Cancer Center and Wentling sees him from time-to-time in the hospital. “I think we are all great nurses and we do a lot of things without expecting to be recognized. I’m grateful someone looked at something so little and understood the big difference it was making in someone else’s life,” Wentling said. “Working on our unit is rewarding. To see someone undergo chemotherapy and work hard to beat cancer, and then see them living their life gives you a new outlook on life and happiness. It’s why I love being an oncology nurse.”
DAISY Award honorees are nominated by nurses, administrators, peers, physicians, volunteers, patients, and families. If you know a Bayhealth nurse who deserves to be nominated, visit Bayhealth.org/DAISY to fill out the nomination form.
