Empathy Amplified and Affirmed
We were honored to be one of five finalists for the 2018 Empathy Amplified Award, an international recognition presented by the Cleveland Clinic. The award celebrates a healthcare provider or care team who embodies empathy, compassion and relationship-centered care well beyond what is expected in their role.
We were nominated for the award by Jana and Kevin Dibel, parents of Jake, a remarkable young man who lived abundantly in the time he had here. We wrote about his journey last summer in a post called The Measure of a Young Man’s Life.
Empathy in Action
In nominating our team, Jana wrote:
The Ghosh Center team took the time to get to know our son as a whole person, not just a cancer patient. They valued what was important to him as he was living out what would be the final months of his life.
To say that the pursuit of higher education was extremely important to Jake is an understatement. While he was receiving quality care at a large teaching hospital, it became difficult to fit in treatments and appointments around his classes, causing Jake a great deal of stress and anxiety. Knowing he would not be able to graduate from college made each day in class even more valuable.
We had heard many wonderful things about The Ghosh Center from friends and colleagues and decided to transfer Jake's care to them. Dr. Ghosh took an avid interest in Jake's college education and understood that being in class, while dealing with as few side effects of treatment as possible, was what mattered most. He did all of this without Jake making any specific requests.
Dr. Ghosh and his staff designed a treatment regimen that allowed Jake to receive maintenance chemotherapy without missing classes. This often required them to stay late so Jake could attend his classes in the morning and receive treatment afterwards. It involved nurses coming in on the weekends to give Jake infection-preventing injections. The team was available by phone 24/7 and always willing to help with ANY issue, whether explicitly stated or inferred from information shared.
Only an extremely empathetic group of people like this could capture the essence of Jake and apply it to the care he received. They honored the life our son lived, and we are forever changed as a result.
In Good Company
We were in good company with the other nominees, which included:
Geriatric & Palliative Care Team – Bridgeport Hospital, Yale New Haven Health*
Leonard Calabrese, DO – Cleveland Clinic
ICU Wellness Team – MD Anderson Cancer Center
Nikki Scurlock – Children’s National Medical Center
Dr. Ghosh and Becki Tinder attended the award ceremony last week. And although we weren’t the final winner (see*), we were humbled to be one of the top five out of hundreds of submissions.
Becki captured the experience well in her email to the team.
We have heard some profound stories and sat at the head of the table with the best of the best. It was humbling and invigorating and solidified that we are doing all the right things. We should be proud of what we do and continue to care for patients the way we do.
To view the opening of the award ceremony and hear excerpts from Jana’s nomination, click on the videos below.