At DaVita, our mission statement and core values align us to provide great patient care in an environment that is so much more than what first meets the eye. It’s about the culture in our facilities. It’s about the ripples we send out to our patients and their families by going the extra mile. It’s about taking great care of our patients, care partners, and one another as teammates. I would like to highlight some patient stories and recognize one of our nurses for doing just that, always CARING.

Cindy has the ability to humanize peritoneal dialysis. She always meets the patients where they are in life and communicates with them in a way that allows transparency and never feelings of embarrassment. She never jumps to assumptions based on barriers they may be experiencing. Instead, she figures out what the patient needs to be successful and provides them with an opportunity to accomplish what they previously did not think they could do. Cindy goes the extra mile to get this done.

I have watched her take a patient who could not read or even sign his name and successfully teach him to independently provide his own dialysis at home. This was a hard, time-consuming task that was filled with daily home visits for weeks. When the patient was doubtful, she continued to say, “You’ve got this! We ain’t gonna give up until you can do this on your own.” This patient did succeed at home dialysis and, in a few short months, went on to recover his kidney function. After all that hard work, Cindy was simply overjoyed that her patient wasn’t dependent on daily dialysis anymore. The patient stated that she never made him feel inadequate, and she was so kind to him.

Cindy also manages tough home environments with great tact and grace. She has a patient who was displaced from her home and found herself performing her peritoneal dialysis while living in a camper, without running water, this winter. Unfortunately, an infection did occur, and barriers to remaining on PD were numerous. Some nurses may have recommended a modality change for the patient. Not this one. Cindy said, “Let me and the social worker go out there and see what we can do.” She was able to utilize a large plastic jug with a spout and a bedpan to create a hand-washing station and complete education reviews with the patient in her home. She transported two of these jugs filled with clean water from our facility to the home visit that day and invited the patient to bring the jugs in for clean water refills at each appointment she has. She continued to have daily contact with this patient for weeks to support her through this time and continue to treat her infection.

I am nominating Cindy Johnson of Raven Rock and Eastern Kentucky Dialysis for the DAISY Award because of her steadfast dedication to serving and caring for a population of patients who may otherwise not have the opportunity to dialyze at home. No matter the sacrifice of her time and energy, Cindy always puts the patients’ needs first. She is certainly a home modality advocate in our clinics. She has also extended support to her ICHD teammates who may be questioning their role and purpose. Cindy is CARING and an encourager.