Remembering our colleague and friend, Bob O’Bryhim, RN
AAMC lost a wonderful colleague, nurse, and friend last week. Bob O’Bryhim, RN, passed away on December 20, 2017 and he will be deeply missed by our entire community.
Bob began his tenure at AAMC in 1995, when he completed his senior practicum in the ICU and was then hired as a new graduate. He was beloved by his colleagues, patients and their family members for his gentle sense of humor, optimistic outlook, compassion and unsurpassed generosity.
In 2012, Bob was the recipient of the DAISY Award, which recognized his compassion and expert clinical care at the bedside. An excerpt of the nomination letter shows the profound impact that Bob had on his patients:
“Dear Critical Care Bob, One of our mother’s last wishes was that I write you a thank you letter. She was beginning to have trouble with word-finding by then, but she smiled as she clearly said, ‘I like him, he is very good. I want you to write a letter to the hospital telling them how good he is and I want you to write a thank you note to him.’
“My sisters and I knew why she felt that way. We were all grateful for the way you cared for mom. You felt like family and we really appreciated your light-hearted humor and gentle attention that put mom so at ease when she otherwise felt humiliated by her relative helplessness. I treasure the memory of mom’s smile as you danced with her during transfers. She literally saved the last dance for you! Lucky you… lucky us!”
We at AAMC are left with wonderful memories of a fantastic friend and colleague — the sort of nurse who became family to his patients when there was no family present, baked bread for them, visited them in their nursing homes, and shared the bounty of his garden with them.
Bob, you are forever in our hearts. A memorial will be held on Thursday, January 4, 2017 at 3 pm in the Garden Café. Donations on Bob’s behalf can be made to the AAMC’s Grow a Nurse Program at give.aahs.org/growanurse.
If you would like to share a memory of Bob here, please do so in the comments section.
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