This person never fails to impress me with their ability to connect with others and the way she shows empathy and kindness to her patients. 

The first time I saw this was with an outpatient who needed an IV in the echo department. The patient had developmental delays and was extremely fearful of the IV. This person was able to connect with the patient in such a genuinely kind manner that the patient trusted them to start the IV--which they were able to do with ease. 

The next example was when this person found out their patient in pre-op hadn't seen his wife, as she was also a patient here at SJH. This person communicated with the wife's nurse and was able to bring the wife down for a quick visit before the husband went for his procedure. 

Finally, we found out that a patient with autism and developmental delays was scheduled to have an echo under anesthesia. This is unusual, but the patient is so fearful of medical procedures (even relatively painless ones like an echo) that she is unable to cooperate. This person offered to come in on their day off to care for the patient and even brought her a box of surgical caps to make it fun for the patient. This person quickly noticed the patient's hand motions and used them to connect and communicate with the patient. This person made the patient feel safe and comfortable through her actions, like showing her the "stickers" (leads) and sitting next to her on the stretcher to show it was a safe place. The patient's mom even asked for this nurse to come with them to TGH for an upcoming procedure. 

This person is a rare example of a genuinely caring individual who truly embodies the nursing spirit and is absolutely deserving of a DAISY Award.

Note: This is Kelly's 2nd DAISY Award!