Phlebotomist Amanda Ham’s attention and compassion helped save a patient’s 41st wedding anniversary at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton recently – and the military veteran was so thrilled he gave her a special medal.
The patient had expected to be at home celebrating with family, but a procedure was delayed. Ham, a lab assistant, collected the patient’s morning labs.
“Most of the time when I do morning runs at 3 a.m., a lot of them don’t want to talk to me,” Ham said. “But sometimes 3 a.m. is when my patients really want to talk to someone. I can kind of read the room. His wife was really sad and worried. I kept reassuring her, told her to stay positive and pray about it, and that he was in great hands.”
Ham added, “When I left, she told me thank you about 10 times for slowing down and showing I cared.”
She later told her colleagues about the situation. “We all put our heads together to see what we could do to help (them) celebrate, even though they were here,” said Jessica Milne, MLS (ASCP)cm, hospital lab manager.
They decided on flowers, a card and a cake, but unfortunately, the flowers and cake were ruled out for medical reasons. They presented the card, and then the patient asked the lab team to present Ham with a special coin to thank her for her service.
“Thank you for building a meaningful connection with your patient. I truly believe you initiated turning a sad day into a happy memory,” Milne wrote in a note thanking Ham.
Hospital President Jeff Reecer, FACHE, said, “Amanda’s rapport with the patient and his wife is a great example of Our Texas Health Promise: Individuals Caring For Individuals, Together.”
