Woman Struck By Car Gets Injury Award

1997 Book Of Dreams Recipient Hopes To Fulfill Another's `dream' In '98 
My Children And I Were Recipients Of Gifts This Year, And I Want To Send My 
Heartfelt Thanks To Chris Ritchie And Everyone Associated With The Book Of 
Dreams.

Thursday, January 22, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





Start caring for caregivers &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A nurse whose name I don't know taught me everything I need to know about
the value of the professionStanding at the foot of my mother's hospital bed
one day nine years ago, I struggled to keep from crying. Brain dead and never
coming back, what remained of her vital signs was winding down. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It was just a matter of time before her life was over. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 All I could do was wait. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 When I tried to tell the nurse that my mother was a caring, loving person
who would have wanted to donate her organs, I choked. Catching myself, my body
heaved and I tried harder than I ever tried in my life not to break down. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Standing by my side, the nurse touched my arm and walked me through what
was happening. What I saw before me was not the mother I knew and loved, she
said. What I saw before me was a shell. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I paid very close attention to what she said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 My eyes welled up. The nurse's eyes did, too. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Later that night I thought about her words and decided that she had taken a
risk by describing my mother as a shell. Somebody else might have taken
offense at her characterization of life and death. Somebody else might have
considered her outrageously presumptuous at such a solemn moment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But not me. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Experience, mercy and love had taught her to go with her instincts. It's
what a good nurse does best. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That intensive care unit nurse at Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton likely
had shared similar scenes hundreds of times. Grieving family members are part
of the package in any hospital in the world. So is the soothing presence of
caring nurses. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Far from uplifting, however, is the prospect of nurses walking a picket
line. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It's a scary thought, even if 800 nurses employed with the Wyoming Valley
Health Care System don't strike, as they announced Monday they were prepared
to do. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Most of these union members would rather not walk out. Most can't afford to
walk out. But most believe they must. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Nurses, like everybody else for that matter, deserve a living wage and a
sound benefits package- including company-paid health care. Union members are
not asking for any financial package even close to what top hospital
administrators receive. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Equally troubling, if a nurse senses short-comings in the health care
benefits provided by the hospital that employs that nurse, what's the average
patient supposed to expect? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Executive selfishness is no way to instill confidence in anybody. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A hospital's reputation depends largely on how well nurses hold up to the
constant pressures of the job. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Smart hospital administrators gladly adhere to the high moral obligation to
treat nurses fairly. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Somehow, a variety of greedy profiteers throughout America have squeezed
health care through a strainer, leaving a slowly evaporating elixir to be
divvied up only among those fortunate to have the money to afford it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In the process, the health care providers' mission to affirm allegiance to
healing slips toward hypocrisy, which affirms allegiance to nothing. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 We all lose when public health policy drifts toward mediocrity. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Even the free-marketeers must realize the foolishness of cutting corners
that endanger the health and welfare of sick people and nursing staff. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Of course, Wyoming Valley Health Care System officials deny any potential
lapse in care at their places of business. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That's an unfortunate lapse in judgment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Because hospitals are special, most people will side with the nurses on
this one. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Nurses have been there for me in the past. No do

Start Caring For Caregivers A Nurse Whose Name I Don't Know Taught Me Everything I Need To Know About The Value Of The Profession.