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“Kris has the energy we all wish we had!"

The Nursing Professional Governance Organization honors one UVA Health nurse leader each year with a DAISY Nurse Leader Award. Associate Chief Nursing Officer Veronica Brill, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, and 2024 DAISY Award Committee Chair Leanne Davis, RN, surprised Kris Blackstone, MSN, MHA, RN, CCRN, Nurse Manager, Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU), with the presentation of a DAISY Nurse Leader Award.

The MICU nominated Blackstone:

"Needless to say, the world has experienced many changes over the last few years — MICU at UVA Health is no different. Change can have a negative or positive impact on groups or individuals. When we started to write this submission, we googled 'leadership.' This statement couldn't have described Kris more perfectly:

'True leadership is much more than authority and recognition from the outside world. Leadership is about developing people and helping others reach their full potential. It's about equipping others with the right tools and strategies — not only to maximize the success of an organization — but also the lives of individuals.'

"Kris embodies every part of this every day in MICU! This nomination is a combination of stories we heard just by asking around, making Kris extraordinary — and showing how she makes MICU a great place to work:

Superior Quality, Patient Safety, and Outcomes

"No task is too small for Kris. There was a patient off the unit for brain death testing. Kris stayed over to completely clean and organize that patient's room for the nurse. This allowed the family to spend the last moments with their loved one in a peaceful room and take that small worry away from the bedside nurse. One of the nurse practitioners (NPs) described Kris as an 'emotional sounding board.' She truly listens, takes in a problem, and offers real solutions to help and support us. She also offers clinicians ways to solve these issues in the moment with leadership skills she has collected over the years.

"Kris is committed to giving the best and safest care to our patients. She is passionate, enthusiastic, and motivated. During our morning huddles, she talks about our huddle points, patient safety risk rounds, and how — as a team — we can support our patients. One of our fellows created the BundleBoard — taking information for the patient's chart and displaying it on the screen in three colors to show our interdisciplinary team things that might need to be assessed.

"An example would be a bleeding central line. Kris is on the unit everyday providing education to our team about how to use it and why it's important — supporting our interdisciplinary partners while believing in the power of innovation and change. Kris was also one of the organizers of the Unit Based Leader meeting weekly in the MICU with an interdisciplinary group of providers, nurses, management, and our unit clinical nurse specialist (CNS). We review safety issues for the unit and get everyone on the same page.

"She is approachable, compassionate, and a team player. We've found her in rooms doing clean ups, taking phone calls, and conducting bedside education with team members. She completed Special Pathogens Training to serve as a resource to us. There is a group of MICU nurses trained to handle special pathogens if there was an outbreak. Just like the rest of the team trained, Kris would be called in to go into these rooms and take care of patients.

One UVA Health Team

"Kris is our protector. Recently, we had a very difficult family and patient situation. It was morally and ethically distressing. The patient was here for months and there were frequent meetings with the family that were emotionally draining. Kris took it upon herself to go to every meeting and represent the bedside nurses. By doing that, she allowed the bedside team to remain on good terms with the family, and decreased bedside team burnout and resentment. It allowed us to still care for the patient.

"Our NPs took care of this patient and when we asked them about why Kris deserved this award, they kept coming back to this story. Kris was there for the NPs just as she was for the nurses. She believes we are one team working together to take care of these patients.

"The MICU can be a stressful and emotional environment. Kris takes the time to foster each team member's emotional well-being. After a nurse's particularly bad day, Kris called that nurse at home to make sure she was okay and to offer support.

"Recently, we had one of our own team members pass away on our unit and Kris took the time to text every nurse who was part of their care team to offer support. And not only does she support her team at work, she does the same outside of work. Unfortunately, there have been several team members who've lost loved ones. Kris has been to every funeral or viewing to give her support — no matter the time or place. A nurse was subpoenaed to court to testify about a patient. Kris didn't think twice about it and made plans to attend court with the nurse to help ease her anxiety.

"Being a great leader means Kris has humility. She knows when she doesn't know the answer or needs help. She understands her resources and who to reach out to. For example, Kris has helped coordinate many moral distress meetings for the team. For this last one, she came in on her day off to eat baked potatoes with our team to allow us to vent and be heard about some recent difficult situations.

"Kris creates an environment where we're expected to be open with each other and give real time feedback and settle our differences in a respectful and kind manner. Her claim to fame is asking, "Did you discuss this with the team member in the moment and share your concerns?" — cultivating a positive culture in MICU, where patient care and respectful communication is priority at all times.

"She has a completely open door policy. You can go in any time and she will stop what she is doing to listen to your concerns. She even has a huge basket of candy and snacks that's always full.

"Kris leads with compassion and humility. A chaplain told us she once ripped her pants at work. Kris walked behind the chaplain and took her to get new pants. She supports everyone who cycles through MICU — as her own team members."

Best Place to Work

"Kris also supports her team's professional development. She fosters us and gives us opportunities to grow as nurses and as people. She makes sure we have time to go to our meetings by coordinating coverage on the unit. Kris is invested in rebuilding our shared governance and works closely with the shared governance chairs to find good fits for different positions. She works with our assistant managers to grow and help nurses climb the clinician ladder.

"Kris has given the opportunity for many of our nurses to go to conferences. This year, she committed to having all 10 of our Clinician 1s go to the 11th Annual UVA Health Nursing Summit. Not only does she support her team's professional development, but she's always striving to better herself. She was accepted into the American Organization Manager Leadership Fellowship program. She also leads work groups around the hospital including the Controlled Substance Oversight Committee.

"Kris meets with every single new hire. We are a unit with lots of travelers and new team members and she takes the time to know each person. When a traveler needed somewhere to stay in between contracts, Kris offered for her to stay in her basement. We have also had a few passport nurses join the MICU team. Kris has been integral in their orientation, taking the time to customize each of their orientations and working with their preceptor teams. She ensures their transition to UVA Health, and to the United States, is as seamless as possible.

'Just That Extraordinary!'

"Kris has the energy we all wish we had. We're pretty sure it's fueled by diet soda and an expectation MICU is the best place to work and receive care. I wish we could say all these stories are rare occurrences — but they aren't. Kris is just that extraordinary!"

More About Kris on Connect

• Kris Blackstone Among 2023 Patriot Award Winners
• A Remarkable Display of Teamwork
• Engaging Initiatives Are Driving Quality Outcomes

Know a Fabulous Nurse Leader?

"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 nurse — so they created the DAISY Award to recognize nurses everywhere.

The DAISY Nurse Leader Award shines a light on those who create an environment that thrives with compassionate, skillful care. Any UVA Health University Medical Center administrative nurse leader — assistant nurse manager and above — who holds an active, registered nursing license is eligible for the DAISY Nurse Leader Award. Learn more about the award and the nomination process.