Ellen Bradley, BSN, RN
Tower 14CD Medical Intermediate Care
Nominated by Bertha Lee, BSN, RN, of Tower 14CD, with letters of support from nurse director Pat Aylward, MSN, RN; resident Amanda Redig, MD, PhD; and the husband of a patient of Bradley's.
Ellen Bradley is well-known on Tower 14CD for going to great lengths on behalf of her patients.
One example is her care for a patient with complex needs who was frequently admitted to Tower 14CD. As this patient's primary nurse, Bradley dedicated herself to caring for her multiple physical, psychological and emotional needs. Because of transportation problems, "the patient had very few visitors, and Ellen recognized just how important it was to develop a relationship with her," said nursing director Pat Aylward, MSN, RN, nursing director of Tower 14CD.
Bradley worked with the patient and the team to help with her goals of care. Eventually, she was transferred to a rehabilitation facility close to family, but the next day, arrived back on 14CD. When Bradley reassessed the situation, "she realized that the patient was scared because nobody knew her at the rehab," Aylward said. "Ellen offered to meet the patient at the rehab the next day so someone she knew would be there to greet her. It was her day off, but she said it was ‘no problem.'"
After greeting the patient at the rehab facility, Bradley spent time assisting the staff in getting to know this patient and her complex needs. "Ellen's presence at the rehab made a difference for the patient and her care, and it struck me as the ultimate in nursing," Aylward said.
Bradley is also known as a gifted preceptor to new nurses and an integral and respected member of the multidisciplinary care team.
"For me, working with Ellen represents the very best of the relationship between nursing staff and housestaff in a teaching hospital: patient-oriented, with mutual respect for each other's roles in providing care, and with seamless transition from developing to implementing to modifying a care plan," said Amanda Redig, MD, PhD, an internal medicine resident. "Ellen truly stands out as one-of-a-kind."
Bradley earned her BSN from Regis College and her BA in Psychology from Merrimack College. She has been a staff nurse on Tower 14CD since 2005.