After years of working in real estate and the restaurant industry, Pam Lenahan, RN, BSN, CHPN, decided in her late 30s to focus her life in a whole new direction. She returned to school, obtained a bachelors degree in nursing at Florida Atlantic University and now 15 years later is caring for patients and their families as a hospice nurse at North Broward Medical Center.
She started her career in medical-surgical oncology, but a moving experience relieving the pain of an elderly patient while in nursing school continued to resonate within her. This memorable interaction and the ability to provide comfort to patients spurred her eventual decision to enter the hospice field.
“As a hospice nurse, you try to find out what you can do to make each day the best it can be, whatever that means to the patient, a back massage, holding the patients hand and listening.”
Her rapport with patients allows her to share in their lives and see beyond their ailing condition. “People have stories they like to tell, what their lives have been like, what they have done,” Lenahan said. She vividly remembers a patient who had survived life in a concentration camp and a battle with breast cancer only to pass away without any family by her side.
Caring for hospice patients, she explained, includes supporting families, keeping them hopeful yet realistic about outcomes. “Patients are very brave, but the families need emotional and spiritual support, so you need to be there for them as well.”
Her devotion to North Broward Medical Centers hospice patients causes Lenahan to make the long, 70 mile commute from her home in Martin County.
“My nursing career means everything to me,” she said. “You feel like you make a difference in someone elses life every single day.”
The Hospice Unit provides care for the whole person and his or her family during the stress of critical illness, death and bereavement. The support team includes registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, nutritionists, social workers, chaplains, therapists and bereavement specialists. A unique feature of the Hospice Unit is the Adopt-a-Room program. Family members and caregivers coping with the loss of a loved one have started this program to enhance the unit. Rooms and areas of the unit are adopted for renovation and dedicated upon completion creating a soothing environment for visitors and patients
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