I would like to take the opportunity to share a special Magnet moment with you and the committee. I have had the pleasure of working with Cheryl Coyne for over 25 years in cardiology. Cheryl is a Level III staff nurse in ACCU who has an incredible gift of showing compassion and reaching out to others. She actually took the chaplain course to learn to work with people in crisis for her own educational growth. I witnessed her selfless act of compassion recently at work.

One morning a patient's family member had stated they saw a woman pacing back and forth by the parking lot. She had said she was doing it for a long time. Later that morning I noticed she was still out there and mentioned it to Cheryl. She immediately said, "Oh my goodness, that woman is in crisis" and left the unit to investigate. I watched out the window as she approached the distressed woman and gained her trust. She stayed with her for about 30 minutes and she convinced the woman to go the ER and seek help. When Cheryl returned, she said the woman was not making any sense and rambling incoherently. When she got her to the ER, the woman collapsed with exhaustion into a wheelchair. I honestly do not know what would have become of the woman if Cheryl did not reach out to help her.

To me, she is what the DAISY award is about, nurses reaching out to help others, showing kindness and compassion beyond their unit or assignment.