Patient experience spotlight: Alicia Fedyski

Chief Operating Officer Lisa Aurilio honors Alicia Fedyski for providing an excellent patient experience.

Each month, Akron Children’s recognizes an employee for providing an outstanding patient experience. Our most recent honoree is Alicia Fedyski, staff nurse on the 7 Medical inpatient unit. She recently received this feedback from a grateful mother:

“When my son was transferred from Boardman to the Akron hospital, we were unable to ride with him. I was anxious, scared and terrified. Then I met Alicia Fedyski, a nurse there. She listened when I expressed my concerns, and she took the best care imaginable of my son. While we were there, she saved my son’s life. She reacted quickly to multiple episodes to make sure he was OK. She consulted pediatricians and specialists for us when we needed them. And being freshly postpartum, I had a lot of depression over this! 

“She made me feel at home, loved and safe. She took amazing care of my son: watching him, constantly reacting quickly and making him feel beyond loved. Every time Alicia walked in the room, it filled with joy – and my son would smile and make me feel whole again. She went above and beyond not only for the care for my son but for the comfort of me and my family during our stay. I’ve never met a nurse as nurturing, loving or as good as Alicia! She was, by far, the best on the floor and the best in the unit. I hope she can see these comments and know how thankful my family and I are we had her – and for making our stay as comfortable as possible. She made us feel so loved and ensured my boy lived and thrived. I’m beyond thankful for her.”

How long have you worked at Akron Children’s?

I have worked here for a little over 2 years, and I’ve spent my whole time on 7 Medical.

How did you feel when you read the recognition from this thankful mom?

I felt grateful and honored getting to hear that I made a very scary and stressful time a little bit better for this family. It was an amazing reminder of just how impactful we can be to a family’s experience and why our job as nurses is so important.

It sounds like you look out for the parents, in addition to providing clinical care for the patient. In what ways do you provide comfort to families?

From the time I started on 7 Medical to now, our whole staff has always highlighted the importance of family-centered care. Family-centered care is caring for the whole family, not just the patient. Making sure the parents are being taken care of can help with the patient’s recovery as well! Just talking with the families and checking in to see how they are coping with the stress of being in the hospital with their little one can make a huge difference.

Doing little things such as getting them coffee or a cup of water from the family kitchen, so they don’t have to leave their little one. Also making sure they have access to getting food while at the bedside. I also like getting to educate the parents on how they can participate in their child’s care and how they can be their child’s advocate.

What do you like most about your job?

The things I like most about my job are getting to connect with the patients and families; learn about their lives; and getting to see every day just how strong little kids can be and how fast they can recover.