Joanne has worked at Winter Haven Hospital for fifteen (15) years. During that time Joanne has progressed professionally and has been the day shift Charge Nurse for the last five (5) years. During the last five (5) years I have witnessed Joanne develop professionally in many ways. Joanne emulates genuine compassion, sincere concern, love and empathy for her peers and patients and most of all one of the biggest smiles and sense of humor to get others through the day. Joanne embodies the true Caritas spirit with love and caring being the heart of her care delivery.

Joanne’s daily task and responsibilities are endless and the amount of concerns and difficult situations she responds to are many yet she seems to carry everything out with skill, poise and professionalism. It is for this reason that when I learned of Joanne’s involvement to facilitate and see through the patients family request to see her unborn great grandchild I was not surprised by the unique story.

When I learned of Joanne’s involvement and dedication to see the request through completely allowing for mystery and miracles with not only our patient but also their family I was extremely proud. I am proud of Joanne frequently and don’t take all the opportunities I have to express that to her, so I am extremely grateful that she will be honored and awarded for her commitment to excellence with the DAISY Award! Joanne is a leader, mentor and facilitator of excellence on MSU and is most deserving of an award. Myself and MSU are extremely thankful for Joanne and all she contributes to this work of caring.

Original Story submitted

I was approached by Joanne with a request by her patient's family to see if it would be possible for the grandson's wife to have an ultrasound at our hospital. The wife was eight (8) months pregnant with the patient's first great grandchild and Joanne explained that Mrs. N who was ninety nine (99) years old may not get the opportunity to see this baby born and it was very important to her grandchildren to try to make this happen. The grandson and wife were willing to pay "out of pocket", money was not the issue, and it was entirely about sharing their first born child with their dear grandmother.

Initially I thought this was a “shot in the dark", but because Joanne felt so strongly that "this is what we should do as a magnet hospital", (and she repeatedly reminded me of a similar Greys Anatomy episode) I told her I would inquire...

I spoke with the House Supervisor, Patient Care advocate, Pt. care coordinator and Ultrasound personnel. I was not surprised to find out that no one knew exactly how this could be arranged but not one person said “No, it can't be done!" It certainly was out of the ordinary, and there was no protocol or billing code for this type of thing, but again, nobody said "No we don't do that" , just we need to be directed on how to do it. Ultrasound suggested calling Mary Jo to see what she thought about it.

Mary Jo returned my call in minutes and invited me to her office; she patiently listened to my request. Not only did she agree this was a possibility for WHH to grant this request, she felt it was an opportunity to embrace our magnet status and go the extra mile for our patient and her family. Mary Jo brought me to Dr. Gale’s office where she relayed the request to him, Dr. Gale immediately agreed this was something our facility could do for this family and as Mary Jo and I left to go to the ultrasound department, Dr. Gale was on the phone hashing out the details to make it happen!

In ultrasound, again we were met by an enthusiastic and positive attitude as details for facilitating this experience were being worked out. Back on MSU I was very proud to tell Joanne her request was being fulfilled and her patient Mrs. N, would soon be seeing her first (1st) great grandchild. Mrs. N's grandson and wife were so grateful and excited, they thanked Joanne and me several times while Mrs. N was left completely oblivious to the surprise that was in store for her!

Over the next thirty (30) minutes I received two (2) more calls from Mary Jo, the last one was the best! Mary Jo said that God was moving with us because on her way back to her office she ran into Mr. MacDougall (chief financial officer) and told him of this family's request. Mr. McDougall said there would be “No Charge" from Winter Haven Hospital (WHH) for this service!!

I brought Mr. and Mrs. N to the Admitting office and as we walked I told them they were truly blessed. God had placed each of the people where they were supposed to be today and that was the only way this experience was happening explained that "from their nurse, to the House Supervisor, Patient Care Coordinator, Patient Liaison, ultrasound staff, Chief Nursing officer, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Financial Officer, everyone with the power to approve and facilitate this ultrasound was where they were supposed to be today. Not bad for the Friday afternoon before Thanksgiving holidays begin.....but no less that we as WHH staff would expect from our Magnet Hospital!!

Addendum: On 11-19-11 there was a Code Blue called in room 564, Mrs. N became unresponsive while visiting with her grandson, she was stabilized and continues to do well.