Alita Payne
October 2021
Alita
Payne
,
RN
C4
Lakeland Regional Health
Lakeland
,
FL
United States
Alita cared enough to mentally take our problems home with her, come in early to do some more sleuthing.
Our mom arrived in hospital with a variety of pre-existing conditions and a new hip injury. Several doctors from a variety of fields were actively treating mom at the time of her admission. We thought we had an understanding after the first few days of what the plan was moving forward, what tests would be done, what meds would be used, and so forth. On day 3, Alita arrived as our day nurse. We've spent enough time with our mom in the hospital, usually staying 8-10 hours each day, to know about routines and typical service levels. Alita was clearly one of the best nurses we've encountered, showing great personality, compassion, smarts, and genuine joy in providing services to her patient. But that alone is NOT why I'm submitting this nomination. At end of day 3, Alita was doing her transition to her night nurse. As we listened, it became obvious that during the day, several things had changed with our patient, none of which we understood. Tests that were expected were not done, new tests ordered, new meds added. We were quite flustered that none of this had been shared yet with us, the family. When we asked Alita she quickly went to the in-room computer to track through the developments. Despite her expertise, the notes were not clear as to what had transpired and why. As she was at the end of her shift, we pleaded that she go home, and told her we'd get answers in the morning. The next morning at 6:30 AM, Alita called out my name. "I have answers for you!" She said it bugged her that we were left without our answers the prior night, so she had come in early to put the pieces together. She of course said we'd need to confirm her observations with the doctors, which we did and she was right on. Alita cared enough to mentally take our problems home with her, come in early to do some more sleuthing, and locate us with an answer. She is a true DAISY Nurse!