I recently had a crisis situation where I had run completely out of one of my medications. I thought that I had it refilled, but I could not find it anywhere. I live 1½ hours from the VA and do not have reliable transportation to drive to Tucson. Nonna had helped me out multiple times in the past, so I did not hesitate to reach out to her to see if she would hopefully be able to help me with a solution to my crisis.

Nonna has always been very caring each time I have had contact with her. She has always treated me with true compassion, through recognizing my situation. She has genuine motivation to help me alleviate the crisis.

She consistently has been attentive to me. Not only does she listen to me when I speak, but she hears what it is I'm conveying. She makes me feel as though I am the only patient she has, and I am grateful for her.

Nonna has always been responsive to both me and my needs. Even though I can only imagine how busy she must be with other patients, she has invariably prioritized my needs and made me feel as though I was her number one priority.

Nonna is extremely intelligent. She knows her job extremely well. She takes time to explain things to me in a way that I can understand, by not talking over my head with terms that I don't understand.

Nonna is a nice person. She has always been very pleasant, and I am fortunate to have her as my mental health nurse and care coordinator. When I recently misplaced my medication and was upset, Nonna did not criticize me or make me feel inferior in any way. Instead, she warmly suggested I check again to see if I might have overlooked or misplaced it. Even though I was in a panic, Nonna was calm and reassuring for me.

Nonna goes above and beyond by providing consistent top-quality service. As I stated earlier, she has always treated me as though I was her only patient to attend to, and mine was the only task at hand for her. When I recently called her to request her assistance regarding my medication problem, she took down the necessary info and informed me that she was going to coordinate with the doctor. Not even two hours later, she called me back with a resolution. When she called me back, she thoroughly explained what was going to happen and when I could expect my medication. She also took the time to inform me how critical it was for me not to miss doses of my medication.

In my opinion, that is going above and beyond and providing exceptional service!

Nonna has always provided truly exceptional service and has done an outstanding job representing what the DAISY Award is about.