Environmental Services
Jackson-Madison County General Hospital
Lynn Jones was cleaning in the MICU one day and noticed one of the nurses trying his best to comb and fix a patient’s hair. The patient, who was very ill and on a ventilator, had asked the nurse to please work on her hair so that she would look nice when her family visited. Lynn could tell that the nurse was struggling with his task, and he admitted he had limited skills when it came to fixing hair. She asked the patient, “Would you like me to comb your hair?” The patient nodded yes.
During lunch, Lynn went to the gift shop and purchased a brush that would help get the tangles out of the patient’s hair more gently. Then she went back to MICU and proceeded to brush the patient’s hair, putting it in two braids that hung over her shoulders. By the time her family arrived, the patient felt like a new woman – the “bed hair” was gone! The patient even introduced Lynn to her family, smiling and saying, “This is the woman who fixed my hair.”
We asked Lynn what motivated her to give up her lunchtime to make sure this patient’s hair looked nice for her family’s visit. “I always try to treat people the way I would want to be treated, or the way I would want others to treat my family. My mother is in a nursing home and one of her nurses fixed her hair one day. I was really touched by that, and knew that was something I could do that would make this woman feel better.” In fact, Lynn enjoyed seeing this patient’s smile of happiness so much, she went back two days later and fixed her hair again. We love your compassion, Lynn!
