The entire team provides outstanding care to my patients. They are the first and last people the patients interact with during their same day procedures. I receive multiple compliments from patients and family. 

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The St. Thomas West Non Invasive Cardiology nursing team is by far the most impressive nursing team I have worked with in my nearly 20 years in medicine. Over the past five years, I have seen them consistently work together as a team, take pride in all they do, have ownership of their patients, and allow their unit to run seamlessly even when problems arise. They are always engaged with problem-solving and being proactive with their patient involvement. Their clinical skills with sick, high acuity patients is commendable, their vigilance is extraordinary. Their attitudes, knowledge, professionalism, commitment to patient care, and teamwork are noticed and commented on by patients every day. Each day I am at work I find myself appreciative of every member of this team, including the leadership. I feel it is a privilege for me to work with them. It is my honor to nominate them for this award.

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This nomination is for the NIC team of Nurses and PCTs on the 4th floor at STW for the 2025 DAISY Team Award. A variety of personalities, skill sets, years of experience, and job roles combine in this area to meet the needs of a highly acute setting servicing both inpatient and outpatient populations. They work together to meet the needs of all their patients with the utmost compassion and professionalism that can be witnessed every day among the variety of patients: this can include those receiving a variety of stress tests, pre-procedural admissions, intraprocedural care during TEE and post procedural care. Most of these nurses are cross trained to serve in up to 4 different roles on any given day. The PCTs provide the support needed to meet and understand the variety of patients they help provide the pre- and post-care areas. Being adaptable and willing to work in this fashion, allows this team to meet the needs of an ever-growing census while still being flexible to meet the financial aspects of the area as they flex their hours and still work hard to make sure the patients know they are being cared for with the reverence that makes this team stand out. Under the guidance of the lead nurses in the different areas, they have remarkable communication with the MDs and NPs of the area, which is well respected and acknowledged for their recognition of patient acuity and needs. This group of nurses instill trust in their patients as they work hard to make sure the best test is performed in the best manner and deliver the quality of care needed to meet the safety concerns, if any are revealed. The best part of their interactions is to hear the dedication in their voices while talking to the patients—they offer their support to the patients and the families in many fashions, it can be with shared prayer, it can be with answering a million nervous questions and it can be as simple getting a shared smile and occasional laugh. In a day’s time, the staff can deal with appointment confusion, recognizing noncompliance with medications that can affect the tests, contraindications to testing, hypotension/bleeds/instabilities/respiratory issues, not having a ride home or someone to care for a patient at home, to just about anything you can think of. All while performing their own room turnovers and cleaning as the day goes along. No one likes to wait, and everyone hates a delay, and the NIC staff can take the brunt of that frustration; they field the questions, the anger, and the tears, but they do it with a commitment to supporting spiritually centered, holistic care, which sustains and improves the health of individuals every working day.  They support each other in the bad days as well as they do for the good days. Generous to a fault, consistent participation in fundraisers, hospital programs, or funding needs identified in the area, these staff members make sure those in need are supported and loved with no expectation of recognition or praise.

Their commitment to each other, within all the different roles of the nursing and PCT, makes the unit a special place to work. NIC’s remarkable and efficient care of patients with known high-level acuities for outpatient procedures averages more than 96% monthly of daily discharges from the area before 9 pm each night, which keeps our need for overnight stays to a minimum! And we average more TEEs in a day than hospitals larger than us! The dedication of this group of staff is amazing to witness, and the experience of anywhere from 2 years to 45 years among the staff makes this diverse group unique as they offer their patients care that exemplifies the Values and Mission of Ascension Saint Thomas West.