Nurses bring prom to hospital for dad-daughter dance

“Dances are something the whole Moran family gets into, especially senior prom,” said Jenn Moran, whose husband, Dan, was hospitalized before their youngest daughter, Mady’s, big night. “This year, one really important person couldn’t be there to watch Mady leave for the dance or embarrass her at pictures with the neighborhood.”

Dan Moran was admitted earlier than expected to the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at the Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute at HealthONE’s Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center (P/SL) in Denver, Colorado, and feared he would miss America’s cherished high school ritual and every teenager’s rite of passage – his daughter’s senior prom.

The Bone Marrow Transplant nurses at the Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute at P/SL heard about this predicament and stepped in to deliver the ultimate patient experience.

“It was amazing. I just asked if I could pin my daughter’s corsage on and the nurses turned this whole thing into a party room,” said Dan, a local firefighter battling leukemia.

Jenn, the proud wife and mom, marveled at how the nurses and staff took great care to make sure every little detail was attended to. A bow-tie for dad, check. A corsage for Mady, check. A private room with juice, cake, music and decorations…check, check and check.

Thanks to the hospital’s food and nutrition services, child life services for sharing decorations, Jen Sanders, Dan’s nurse, and many more nurses on the blood marrow transplant unit and others behind the scene, a prom-ready Mady enjoyed her first dance with her dad at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center.

“This is what life is all about,” Dan said of the impromptu prom.

This week is Patient Experience Week and we’re taking our mission – above all else we are committed to the care and improvement of human life – and making “one word commitments” to our patients. The P/SL Blood Marrow Transplant Unit Nurses’ one word commitment is PROM.

Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center is an affiliate of HCA Healthcare.

HCA Healthcare 50th Anniversary
In 1968, HCA Healthcare was conceived by two physicians and an accomplished business leader — Dr. Thomas Frist Sr., Dr. Thomas Frist Jr., and Jack Massey. This year, HCA Healthcare celebrates its golden anniversary and the culture of caring established by our three founders 50 years ago. To help us celebrate our 50th year, we’ll share stories here that reflect HCA Healthcare’s mission – above all else, the care and improvement of human life – and our pledge to improve life and make history for the next 50 years and beyond.