Portraits of Caring at Northern Westchester Hospital

Welcome to 2019. We’re living in the age of medical marvels and miracles. We’re using robotic tools, GPS technology, and machines that defy gravity to help keep our community healthy. As a Planetree designated hospital, Northern Westchester Hospital is also proud of raising the bar for patient-centered care. Meet five extraordinary staff members who surpass all expectations to bring comfort and relief to our patients and their families.

Dorothy Cafran: Handcrafted with Love

Years ago, when a patient with advanced cancer told Nurse Dorothy Cafran how much she loved autumn, Dorothy got an idea. “I’m a quilter and I have a lot of fabric at home,” she says.   So I whipped up a pillowcase for her using fabric with fall leaves on it. It brought her great joy.” It was the first of many pillowcases Dorothy has handcrafted for patients and their families.

As a palliative care nurse, Dorothy sits down with patients and gets to know the people behind the diagnoses—their interests, likes, dislikes, fears. Hearing about their lives often prompts her to create personalized pillowcases for patients and their family members. “Pillowcases are universal,” she says. “It doesn’t matter how old or young, big or small you are—everyone sleeps on a pillow.”

Recently Dorothy met a woman with cardiac disease whose condition was very tenuous. “She was extra-sad, very sick,” she says. “She told me what she feared most was not seeing her granddaughters grow up. Her granddaughters loved to dance.” The next day Dorothy surprised the patient with homemade pillowcases featuring ballerina slippers. “I told her, ‘These are for you to give your granddaughters. You’ll always be with them, and every time they sleep on these pillows, it’s like you’re giving them a hug.’ The woman burst into tears of joy.”

While her thoughtful gestures never fail to raise the spirits of patients and family members, Dorothy insists, “Trust me, I receive far more than I give.”

Tammi Gonzalez: Tea-Cart Tammi

Many patients have trouble sleeping at night in the hospital. So Tammi Gonzalez, also known as Tea-Cart Tammi, a patient care associate on the seventh-floor cardiopulmonary unit, provides nightly “tuck-in rounds” to make patients feel comfortable and relaxed before bed.

“I go around with a little tea cart, and I offer decaf tea and coffee, hot chocolate, graham crackers, and sugar-free cookies.” Other tuck-in options include warm blankets, eye masks, earplugs, hand massages, scented sachets and recordings of soothing sounds. “If we don’t have something they want before bed, I try my hardest to get it because if I were a patient, it would make me feel like somebody really cares. I love the idea of knowing that someone’s there to wish me goodnight.” How have patients reacted? “Some have told me, ‘Wow, this is better than a hotel! I don’t want to leave!’ ” Tammi says with a laugh.

“The best part is the conversation that’s happening,” she says. Sometimes I’ll sit there and talk to patients for hours. “Often they’re alone and don’t have anybody to talk to. So this gives them the opportunity to have that little chat they might need. I ask them about their family, what they did for a living, where they grew up—it reduces the anxiety that can come with a hospital setting.”

Susan Raskin: Relaxation Is Key

Integrative medicine uses therapies that complement conventional care to reduce pain and to comfort patients. “It helps medications work more effectively because it relaxes the person,” says Susan Raskin, a nurse who practices integrative medicine at NWH. “It speeds up the healing process. That is our goal: to manage pain, stress, and anxiety.”

At no charge to patients, Susan offers reflexology, gentle touch massage, reiki, guided imagery, and music therapy. She also treats patients’ family members. “It’s not uncommon for a patient to say, ‘I’m okay but could you work on my wife?’ And we’re happy to do it. Many family members are here 24/7, and they’re getting rundown. The patient relaxes, seeing their loved one getting cared for.”

“I’m the luckiest nurse in the profession that this is what I get to do all day,” Susan says. “I am always in awe. I see patients and families dealing with tremendous stressors, real fears, and concerns. Their courage and grace under pressure never cease to amaze me.”

Angela Watts: “A Home-like Feeling”

Angela Watts, an ICU nurse, created “comfort boxes” to help support patients and families struggling with the last stages of life. The comfort box is a small gift box containing items a family might need at the patient’s bedside, such as hand cream, lip balm, mints, tissues, tea bags, a booklet about the dying process, a small token with a powerful message, and a silk pouch that can be used to keep a lock of their loved one’s hair.

But Angela’s program goes a step further. “We want to create an environment that gives a home-like feeling,” she says. So the patient and family also receive a handmade quilt, a colorful pillow, and a journal to record their thoughts. “The comfort box is not just a tangible item—it’s a mindset,” she continues. “We want that last interaction to be special and home-like.” Once the patient passes, the family is encouraged to take the items home as a remembrance of that last time. “They love it and are very appreciative.”

“I’ve been a critical care nurse for 23 years, and I’m blessed to care for end-of-life-patients,” she says. “Death can be beautiful, and I feel very honored to be there at such a special time. As nurses, we’re fortunate we can share that time and encourage patients and family to look at each other, hold hands, forgive, and say what they need to say.” Nurses can tailor the environment so it’s warmer and more personal. “This program is very close to my heart,” says Angela. “I feel so fortunate that the hospital supports it.”

Giovanna Albanese: Healing Heart Stones

Giovanna Albanese, activity coordinator at the Ambulatory Surgical Center, has always kept two colorful, heart-shaped stones on her desk. During difficult times in her life, she explains, “they’ve provided me comfort in some way.” One day, a woman came in for brain surgery. “She was beautiful, in a wheelchair, in her 20s, very scared, crying,” says Giovanna. “I asked her parents, ‘Do you mind if I give her something special?’ And I handed her one of my stones. The young woman instantly brightened up, and the parents had tears in their eyes.”

At that moment Giovanna realized that her stones could be as special and meaningful to others as they are to her. She started buying more to give away to those who “needed a little something extra during a difficult time,” she says. “I’ve given heart stones to a mother who’d lost her baby, a distraught breast cancer patient, and a trembling 10-year-old boy getting an MRI.  She keeps the stones in a velvet pouch, and tells patients, “I call these my healing heart stones. Pick one—don’t look. You’re going to be okay.” Giovanna has been overwhelmed by the response: “A cancer patient who came back for a second surgery told me she put the stone on her nightstand. Another keeps it in her wallet at all times.”

Giovanna has handed out nearly 100 stones over two years. She was recently awarded a $1,600 grant to begin regularly buying them for patients. “I’m so blessed to be in this position,” she says. “Knowing I may touch someone’s life in some small way means the world to me.”

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