Valerie Yeo
May 2022
Valerie
Yeo
,
MSN, RN-BC, GNP-BC, NE-BC
SMUCLA
Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center
Santa Monica
,
CA
United States

 

 

 

Valerie always strives for the best. Her love for the geriatric population is genuine and remarkable.
Valerie was hired as an RN at UCLA in 1994 and has served in many leadership roles, including as a CN III, AN I, and AN II. She pursued higher education at UCLA and received her MSN degree as a Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Nurse Specialist in Gerontology. When Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center opened in 2007, the geriatric service was moved to Santa Monica and needed a Unit Director. Valerie knew the challenges but without fear or doubt, accepted this role with determination and pride.

***

A positive patient experience during our patient's hospitalization is her biggest gratification. With her passion, dedication, and ambitious standards, she committed herself to transform this unit into what it is today - one of the top Geriatrics Units in the country!

***

Her positive image of professional nursing, administration, clinical practice, and education is why 5NW Geriatric Unit has the best outcomes in the entire health system. Most recently 5NW celebrated 12 consecutive months of “zero” CAUTI's, CLABSI's, and HAPI's.

***

Safety is always her main concern. She is a strong advocate for the prevention of patient falls, knowing it can cause serious harm or be life-threatening. She rounds daily and encourages the staff to do their hourly rounding. She identifies high fall risk patients in the morning huddle…and is constantly clearing/organizing the hallways to make she there are no patient barriers. Our Geriatric unit did not have a fall with injury for 12 consecutive months in 2021!

***

She is consistently reminding and encouraging the staff to continue their education and offers them different options to help them excel in their careers. She goes above and beyond to support her team in every way possible – her encouragement and motivation have resulted in 45% of nurses on the unit receiving their certification in Gerontology - an amazing accomplishment!

***

In 2014, she led her team to embark on the journey of becoming part of the NICHE (Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders) membership program and uplifting the geriatric unit to the next level of recognition with age-friendly status.

***

She embedded resiliency in the face of adversity in her staff, and has created a culture of nursing excellence, organization, and teamwork. With Valerie’s leadership, 5NW has demonstrated scores above benchmark in all domains for multiple years. One of these benchmarks is staff satisfaction - happy nurses make happy patients!

***

Valerie always strives for the best. Her love for the geriatric population is genuine and remarkable. She advocates improving quality of life and wellness throughout the patient's aging process. She has built a strong interdisciplinary team to improve the care of these populations and address the vulnerabilities they face.

***

Thank you for all your wonderful years as a Unit Director, creating and establishing a warm healing environment for all elderly people. We thank and love you!

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