Suzie Swick-Horowitz, RN of TPMG Outpatient Oncology is being honored with a DAISY Award based on this nomination submission from one of her former patients as well as two of her co-workers who wrote: #1: … It is with great joy that I nominate Suzie Swick-Horowitz for the DAISY Award. I have been a hem-oncology patient for nearly 20 years, getting enzyme infusions bi-weekly but became an oncology patient 10 years ago. I had known how Suzie could light up a room, just walking in, with the joyfulness she gives to all of her patients, every bit of her is warm, caring, reassuring. When my first experience with cancer, I saw first-hand how her calm, gentle manner help so much to allay my fears, and her message to call with any questions, no matter how 'stupid' to me. The world of cancer was new and scary, but she walked me through every inch of the way. Throughout that first battle, and then earlier this year, when I was told I had breast cancer, a week before Christmas, the same time 9 years ago, that the NHL was found. Suzie was there' for me, her wonderful rapport with the MDs truly help, as they seem work collaboratively so well together, seem to trust her awesome skill, and know if she calls, its because she NEEDS to run something by, or get the help she wants/needs. I am in awe of how Suzie uses humor to calm the most frightened, agitated patient. Multiple 'sticks' really can hurt, lots, but again, her calm, reassuring, often with humor, makes a huge difference. She works closely with the staff as she seems 'in charge' often when the Head Nurse is away, and I observe her working with new RNs, new to the floor, again, in a teaching, not preachy, way. Last year, when I was part of a phase 3 drug study, Suzie was my 'study nurse' and I again got to see how she interacted with multiple departments, as this was a new study model, I guess and labs, especially, needed help getting 'on board'. I heard her navigate this easily and with respect for her colleagues, and the study director, all taking much time, but handled with her usual reassurance that it would all work out, which it did. Pardon my rambling...chemobrain is a lasting problem even 10 years later. AND, Suzie was the first to give my scary mental status, a NAME. Can’t say how reassuring that was. This is no 'dumb blonde', rather a joyous, loving, caring gift, to all of us who get to spend time in her domain, she is truly a flower, which brightens up our lives, and helps take away the worries, and brings HOPE, to all of her patients, regardless of the challenges we might face. By the way, Suzie is in large part, why I still commute to San Rafael Kaiser for my ongoing care. I trust all of the Clinic staff, to do their best and 'be there' for me, and for all of us. #2: Suzie Swick-Horowitz has been an oncology nurse for many years. She just was awarded her Staff Nurse II. She is also chemo certified and is the Charge Nurse back-up for our outpatient oncology/infusion clinic. Everyday she brings to work her good humor and open heart. She treats all of our patients with a great deal of compassion and respect. She goes the extra mile to go over to the hospital for a pre-huddle to make sure all the chemo orders are available and the hospital RNs are “ok” with the meds. She will run over to the hospital or IR to help access a port or do a difficult IV. Suzie has a green thumb and decorates the front desks with her gorgeous home-grown flowers from her garden. She goes the extra mile and all of our patients and her co-workers love working with her. We’re blessed to have her as part of our oncology team. #3. I have the absolute pleasure of nominating Monica (Suzie) Swick-Horowitz for the DAISY Award. She has been a Kaiser registered nurse for more than 22 years. She has worked many jobs within the Kaiser system and because of this, knows many employees and has a great affinity for establishing and maintaining friendships. She is outgoing, caring and more than a vital part of our unit. She has worked in the outpatient Chemotherapy/Infusion Center for the past 15 years. Prior to that she worked in many areas within the outpatient setting: GI, internal med, etc. I cannot express all the things she does that come so naturally to her that shows her caring, professionalism and attentiveness. She is constantly recognized by patients and family members as someone they can easily talk to and she has the ability to continually empathize with their situation. Due to her vast experience of working with chemo she is an invaluable resource to her co-workers. She brings a depth of knowledge and is available to help each nurse should they need assistance. She is current on new information relating to chemo which she shares with the other nurses and her patients. Many times this is information that can enhance a patient’s quality of life. This, again, shows her compassion and expertise. She constantly puts the patients first. It is difficult to name just one thing that makes Suzie's personality come to light so I have to share two portraits of Suzie that are so wonderful. First of all is her laughter and sense of humor. Many people outside our unit think that working in our unit must be very difficult, sad and hard to handle. There is some truth to this but not entirely. Our unit is full of laughter and Suzie sets the standard for this. Many times we hear her uproarious, contagious laughter float down the halls and I smile and see the patients that hear her laugh are smiling, too. When I hear her laugh, I frequently hear a patient ask, "Is that Suzie laughing?" She is very real, tells her life stories to patients and they respond to her with their own laughter. This helps the patients come out of their diagnosis-related, 'shell-shocked" state and begin to see the humor that exists every day, even though and despite the fact they have cancer. In many instances our patients begin to feel 'alive' again and they are not just "that person (or patient) with cancer". Patients ask for her by name when they come to our unit. They know they will be compassionately cared for because she not only exhibits a knowledgeable and professional attitude but she envelops them in her aspect of caring which is like a cozy blanket - all wrapped up, safe and warm in a cocoon where nothing can harm them. I can't tell you how important that is when a patient comes to our unit with their perception of being stuck with IV's (therefore painful things will be done to them), drugs pumped into them which are actually poisons and have no idea how they will feel afterward. Each new patient feels every aspect of their lives has been forever changed. This sets up the nurse for a daunting process of calming, explaining and connecting with them on all levels of their fears and concerns. The second side that is so valuable in Suzie is her ability to turn a situation around. I have witnessed several times an almost-certain-to-be-difficult patient exchange do a total '180' in the course of their day in the chemo unit. When patients are diagnosed with cancer, their lives have been threatened and changed forever. I would love to say all patients take this life-change with grace and acceptance. This is not the case and sometimes patients come to us with anger, distrust and terror-filled ideas of what they are going to experience while they undergo chemotherapy treatments. We know extra time will have to be spent with the patient and this is a difficult situation for any nurse to walk into. It is an expected part of our job and the nurse is thrown into the task of trying to help the patient verbalize their feelings and begin the acceptance process. Due to her extensive experience, Suzie understands how to approach, talk to and help patients deal with their diagnosis in a compassionate manner. I don't know how she does it but I have seen a very angry new patient walk out of their chemo feeling better about what is happening to them and actually smile. She and the patient hug and I think--"Wow, how did she make that happen?" Guaranteed, this patient returns for their next session with a totally different attitude. They've had a chance to ponder on all the things discussed during their chemo session and they have delved into the process of acceptance and dealing with their disease. I can't begin to tell you how valuable that type of exchange is--it sets the tone for the remainder of that patient's chemotherapy in our unit which can translate to months and months. Suzie makes an incredible difference in the lives of so many people, not just the patients but her co-workers as well. Suzie loves to grow flowers and can tell you how to grow just about anything. She frequently brings in a bouquet of flowers to brighten up the registration desk so all the patients can enjoy her fruits of her garden. It's just one more thing that Suzie does to create a sense of hominess to our area. Suzie is one of the first contacts patients meet when patients know they are going to receive chemo. She assists in the weekly patient education class which is an introductory class to chemotherapy where patients learn what they can expect from chemo. The class is a patient's first exposure and connection to the nurses who will administer their chemo. This is a class for patients and their family members/friends who want to help the patient through their chemo. Anxiety levels can be high and emotions varied so this class has the potential for ALL sorts of dynamics. Suzie is skilled in dealing with whatever question patients ask her and is able to assist patients and family members in viewing chemo as something more a terror-filled experience. It takes a special skill to do that. As the "second-in-command", she is a relief charge-nurse and helps out the charge nurse with other duties and responsibilities. In this regard, she has not been officially recognized for the important role she plays in helping the department function efficiently. I would love to see this recognition given to her to let her how much her peers appreciate all that she does to help the patients, nurses, pharmacists, medical assistants and all the other ancillary services that support our chemo patients. She is a treasure and we are glad she works with us. In my mind, I feel she is the perfect candidate for the DAISY Award.