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Nurses bring prom to hospital for dad-daughter dance

Father wearing hospital gown and face mask dancing with his daughter wearing prom dress

Girl wearing prom dress posing for a photo with her parents in hospital room“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.

A group of nurses holding whiteboard that says "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.

About HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare, one of the nation's leading providers of healthcare services, is comprised of 183 hospitals and more than 2,300 sites of care, in 20 states and the United Kingdom. Our more than 283,000 colleagues are connected by a single purpose — to give patients healthier tomorrows.

As an enterprise, we recognize the significant responsibility we have as a leading healthcare provider within each of the communities we serve, as well as the opportunity we have to improve the lives of the patients for whom we are entrusted to care. Through the compassion, knowledge and skill of our caregivers, and our ability to leverage our scale and innovative capabilities, HCA Healthcare is in a unique position to play a leading role in the transformation of care.

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