Northwestern Memorial nurses provide heartfelt keepsakes to comfort grieving families

CHICAGO - They're the heart of healthcare. Nurses comfort not only patients but their families too.

The nursing staff at Northwestern Memorial has found a way to comfort grieving families, and the small gesture is creating a big impact for so many.

For months now, nurses at the hospital have handed out three dozen of these heartbeats in a bottle.

Hira Malik and Lydia Hillary work in the Medical Intensive Care Unit. They both kept getting that empty feeling going back to an empty room, watching families of patients leave the hospital, crying, and grieving.

They wanted to do something more than just say "I'm sorry for your loss." So, they had an idea for a one-of-a-kind keepsake. A tiny bottle with an EKG print-out showing the patient's final heartbeats, their name, and a personalized note.

"It helps me to know that the family of my patient will remember them and remember the care that they got in their final moments," said Lydia.

"My hope is that when they look at that little memento and they look at that little keepsake, it reminds them of all those really precious, happy memories that really define their loved one," Hira added.

The nurses spent their own money for the supplies until one doctor noticed the kind gesture. Now, all the doctors in the unit pitch in to help them continue doing this for families in the future.