Denise was my pre-op nurse for a procedure I had at Meriter Hospital in November of 2025. She is affable, funny, thoughtful, and compassionate. I learned this about her character in the limited time in which she was getting me ready for my surgery. Before surgeries, people are always nervous, and Denise had a way of reading me that I was really grateful for.

We didn’t name my anxiety, but she did all the right things to make me feel more comfortable. It is attending to details, like warmly greeting my wife, getting a warm blanket, responding to my request for an axis line nurse to put in IV, not making me wear my hair cap until we were getting ready to leave, and introducing me to the nurse who would be with me in the OR. But mostly Denise made a positive impact because of how she made me feel, which was cared about, supported, and seen.