‘We get by with help from our friends’

Meg Szucs, left, and Candace Andreson, hold a poster signed by the Elkhart General ER team thanking the Memorial Hospital ED team for their compassion and generosity.

The Elkhart General Emergency Room nursing team recently suffered the loss of a beloved colleague and friend who had worked in the emergency room for 17 years.

As soon as members of the Memorial Hospital Emergency Department heard the news, they jumped into action to provide support to their fellow Beacon nurses.

They sent over pizza for the staff.

They created handmade blue ribbons for the Elkhart General ER nurses to wear in remembrance of their colleague.

And in a heartfelt gesture on the day of the funeral, seven Memorial ED nurses drove to Elkhart to relieve their ER nurses so they could pay their final respects.

Left to right: Madison Lilly, Susan Miller, Candace Andreson.

“I really wanted to express our appreciation for the support shown by our Memorial colleagues during our recent EGH ED family loss. The staffing, food and emotional efforts were amazing and not only helped us cope, but also helped us to feel part of the Beacon team,” said Dr. David Van Ryn, vice president of Elkhart Emergency Physicians, in a note he sent to Candace Andreson, RN, director of the Memorial Emergency Care Center.

And on Monday, Elkhart General President Carl Risk and Karra Heggen, MSN, RN and Vice President of Nursing, and their team showed their appreciation in person.

Left to right: Madison Lilly, Karra Heggen, Susan Miller, Candace Andreson, Courtney Hochstetler, Meg Szucs, Luke Eichorn, Carl Risk.

They recognized the Memorial ER team with the Compassion Award for their support and encouragement during the loss of one of our own.

Elkhart General recognizes teams that demonstrate the Beacon Values: respect, trust, integrity, compassion and keeping the patient in the center.

And they presented the team with a poster board containing about 50 personal notes of thanks from ED staffers.

“We are just so grateful and appreciative,” Heggen said.

“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Left to right: Courtney Hochstetler, Karra Heggen, Meg Szucs, Susan Miller, Luke Eichorn.