Connect

"What a blessing she is to your staff and to anyone in the community."

A patient, overwhelmed by the love, patience, and compassion that Catherine Vetal, BSN, RN, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), extended to her and her family, and to everyone she interacts with, nominated the long-time UVA Health nurse for a DAISY Award from the UVA Community Health Nursing Professional Governance Organization (NPGO).

“I see the way she cares about each of her patients," writes the UVA Health Prince William Medical Center patient in her nomination. "How she speaks to each baby with love and patience, even in stressful situations. I am moved by her ability to remain calm and uplifting for each and every person she comes into contact with.” 

“What a blessing she is to your staff and to anyone in the community who has to experience their child struggling in the NICU. She truly has a wealth of knowledge and experience. We love her and wanted you to know just how much her presence and care affected our experience!”  

‘Incredible Knowledge and Dedication’

When the unexpected happens while having a baby, anticipation and joy can quickly turn to fear; however, through an exemplary balance of clinical skill and emotional attentiveness, Vetal assuaged that fear by providing helpful information while also delivering expert care to the entire family. The patient explains that she and her husband are second-round NICU parents who were in the NICU with their newborn daughter, who was having oxygen level issues at birth.

“We had a good start. She came off CPAP, was balancing her sugars, had come off of her IV, and was working her way to a healthy discharge, when we had a setback with a feeding that caused her to require going back on CPAP to help her oxygen levels rebound. We were devastated and scared, having already been in the NICU for three days.” 

“She was stabilized and checked out by the NICU doctors and nurses, who were all exceptional at their jobs, but there is one nurse who I truly feel deserves recognition and praise for her incredible knowledge and dedication to her job: Cathy, who was our day nurse as our little girl was leveling out and coming off of the CPAP for the second time. She was compassionate and incredibly informative as we worked through the new fears we had about how to properly care for our child to make sure there wasn’t a setback in her recovery again. She noticed small things, like our baby requiring some help pacing the bottle, and taught us how to do this.” 

‘Her Care is Top Notch’

Alongside the attention to detail that helped Vetal stabilize the baby and recognize the help these parents needed to face unexpected challenges, she also exhibited inspirational compassion. The nominator continues, “Her bedside manner is the best I have received from both our last NICU stay and our current one. She is professional about how she handles herself but also has the ability to put you so at ease that you feel like you’ve known her forever.”

“The trust she was able to build with my husband and I felt more like a family member who has all the answers to life than a person we have only known for a few days. We wish we could take her home with us when we get discharged! She gives us peace of mind knowing her care is top notch.” The ability to create this level of trust in such a short amount of time and in such a stressful situation speaks to Vetal’s gifts and efforts as a nurse, as does the patient’s high praise!

In Her Own Words: 'A Special Honor'

Vetal, who has an impressive 40 years of nursing experience, with 37 of those spent with UVA Health, comments that her career goals are, “to continue working in this wonderful NICU with my amazing co-workers, providing delicate care to our most vulnerable population: the babies.”

She adds, “What a special honor to be recognized for something that I love doing as my job, and knowing I make a difference here in the NICU. This is something I will continue doing every day, many thanks!”

Know a Fabulous Nurse?

UVA Community Health NPGO honors UVA Health Prince William Medical Center nurses each quarter with a DAISY Award.

"DAISY" stands for "Diseases Attacking the Immune System." The DAISY Award was established by The DAISY Foundation in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at the age of only 33 of an autoimmune disease. The Barnes Family was awestruck by the clinical skills, caring, and compassion of his nurses, so they created this national award to thank nurses everywhere.

Patients or their family members; visitors; and team members can submit a nomination for a UVA Health Culpeper, Haymarket, or Prince William Medical Center nurse.