Early on in the crisis, a 93-year old woman had passed away in the hospital without family present because no visitors were allowed. Courtney Kovacs, BSN, RN-BC, 2E Nurse Manager (in foreground at left ), knew that the patients’ daughters wanted to see their mother one last time. She helped the patient’s nurse prepare the woman for her family and then arranged a FaceTime session with each daughter so they could say goodbye privately.
The grateful daughters told Kovacs she had made a hug e difference to their family. Hospitals throughout the RWJBarnabas Health system have since purchased iPads to enable families to communicate with their family members while they’re in the hospital.