A registered nurse at Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Medical Center is responsible for spearheading an initiative to comfort the families of patients who died at the hospital's respiratory intensive care unit, reports KSL TV.
To comfort patients' relatives, Lisa Beglarian, RN, prints a patient's EKG strip and places it in a laboratory tube with the following message for the individual's family: "May my heartbeat always be a gentle reminder of the love I have for you."
Ms. Beglarian said she discovered the idea on Pinterest about 18 months ago. Since then, most of the nurses in her unit have adopted the practice.
"[The EKG strip] tells a story of the patient — it's something of their life and their legacy," Ms. Beglarian told KSL TV. "Some [families] are very tearful and have really appreciated it — especially, I think, for our younger patients who unfortunately have passed on."
Ms. Beglarian said the gesture also brings her solace as a nurse.
"You know, [nurses are] human as well," she told KSL TV. "[A patient's' death] affects us, too, and we really do care about the patients and their family members."