I am writing this as Katie's coworker. Often, on our hospital's General Medicine units, patients have cognitive or psychological barriers to advocate for themselves and also do things like complete a DAISY Award nomination form. I am nominating Katie because she always takes exemplary care of her patients, but goes above and beyond when she is advocating for those without the full ability to advocate for themselves.

She noticed that her patient, who has quite significant neuropsych barriers to communication, was itching to the point of opening scratch wounds, and upon further inspection, she noted that the patient had significant body and head lice. Katie communicates with the doctor to coordinate treatment as quickly as possible and spends hours making sure that the patient’s environment is properly sanitized and also treating her body and hair, combing out lice and eggs until she is satisfied that she has received full treatment.

Furthermore, the following night, she repeated everything (except the medication, which is only given once). The entire time, Katie treated the patient with kindness and respect. As a result, the patient is far more physically comfortable, and I feel this will help with her recovery. There is so much exemplary care that goes unsung in hospitals because patients may not be able to communicate their feelings or the patient has no friends or family involved, such as this patient.