December 2015
Jacquie
Miller
,
RN
Critical Care Unit
Marian Regional Medical Center
Santa Maria
,
CA
United States

 

 

 

Over the years, Jacquie has done many special acts of kindness towards patients, families and staff members ...quietly.
Jacquie bonds with every patient and family. She treats them as if they are her own family. She is a patient advocate. She wants what is best for them and their family. She laughs with them, she cries with them, and offers them and endless supply of hugs. Jacquie is a clinical nursing instructor as well as a full time nurse. She is a wealth of knowledge, not just for her students, but for her fellow colleagues, old and new. She is a team player and is always there to help problem solve as well as collaborate. She explains to families what to expect and educates them on current conditions and she won't hesitate to get a doctor at the bedside to explain diagnosis and condition to them.
She has adopted pets from sick patients that no longer could care for them; she has given money to patient's spouses so they could have a warm cafeteria meal; she has been empathically present with many family members at their loved-ones last breath!
I remember one time recently when Jacquie was caring for a patient who was not going to get better. The family made the difficult decision to remove the ventilator. Jacquie was not working on that day, but the family wanted to wait until Jacquie came back to work so she could be with them. She has a way of helping people through the most difficult time of their lives, and she does it with compassion, humor, storytelling, and love.
Patients and families become Jacquie's friends and they come to visit her or keep in touch with her in other ways. Just last week Jacquie had a young patient that sustained a large brain bleed and was declared brain-dead. Jacquie was a great support to the husband and children throughout the entire painful grieving stages. But Jacquie went above and beyond to care for this patient a few hours before she was taken off life support. The patient's hair was matted and very difficult to be cared for with a simple plastic comb; so Jacquie went to the gift shop and bought a hair brush so she could make this young lady look beautiful for her husband and children …one last time.
She is an extraordinary nurse very deserving of the DAISY Award.