The Memorial Hospital Foundation’s Everyday Hero program was designed to give patients and their family members the opportunity to recognize a Shore Health System employee, physician or volunteer who exemplifies the organization’s mission of “Exceptional Care, Every Day.”

A family recently made a donation to the Everyday Hero program to recognize a nurse who helped them deal with the loss of a loved one. Their gift to the Memorial Hospital Foundation honored Michele Williams, BSN, C, RN-BC, OCN, C, CHPN, a pain management and palliative care specialist who is also a certified hospice palliative care nurse.

Explaining how Williams helped them after the attending physician recommended palliative care for a family member, the Everyday Hero nominator writes, “Michele Williams gave outstanding care to our father and saw our family through a very difficult time.[She] sat down and spoke to us about the dying process and comfort care in terms we could understand. She took us on a tour of the Palliative Care Suite on the 2nd floor [of The Memorial Hospital at Easton].”

Williams and fellow nurse, Lisa Cook RN, developed the Memorial Hospital Palliative Care Suite in 2004 for the comfort of dying patients and their families. Today, the suite consists of two private patient rooms each outfitted with comfortable seating for guests, handmade comforters, soothing artwork and equipment required for patient medical needs. An adjacent family lounge is equipped with a microwave, refrigerator, TV and a sofa with built-in recliners.

Williams says, “Palliative care is about treating the whole person. It is not only physical care and symptom management; it is the emotional, spiritual and psychological care of the patient and the family. My colleagues and I work hard every day to ensure that the
patients and their families have the best quality care at the end of life.”

The family who honored Williams as an Everyday Hero adds, “The Palliative Care Suite is a wonderful room. We felt like we were at home [there]. We will always remember the special care we received from Mrs. Williams.”

The Memorial Hospital Foundation uses the Everyday Hero gifts to support Shore Health System in continuing its mission of delivering Exceptional Care, Every Day. For more information about the Everyday Hero Program, contact the Memorial Hospital Foundation, 410-822-1000, ext. 5481.