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Say what you will about 2016, but here at UVA we think it’s been a pretty amazing year. If you had any doubt about the quality of professionalism and compassion our UVA nurses possess, read the testimonials below. These DAISY award winners were all nominated by a team member. To work with people you respect and trust is truly a gift. Congratulations to all of our 2016 DAISY winners. You make us proud!

Coleen Kelso, Clinician II, 6 Central

Nominated by: Heather Turner

“We recently had a 30-year-old patient who I will call Sue. She was diagnosed with probable TB. She came here for a lung biopsy and had a significant preoperative stroke. Because she was in isolation for TB, she could not go to rehab until she had been treated for at least two weeks. She ended up being here, almost four hours away from home, for close to a month. Sue was very down about the whole situation, but particularly sad about having to be away from her four-year-old son for so long. She was worried that he didn’t really understand what was going on with her and that he was scared about her being sick and in the hospital.

This is where Coleen came in.

Coleen was caring for Sue one night shift and Sue talked about her son and her concerns. Coleen provided moral support as all nurses should, but then she went above and beyond and decided to make a laminated, hand-illustrated book for Sue’s son, explaining her stay at UVA in words and pictures that a four-year-old could understand. Coleen stayed hours after her shift ended to finish this book to give to the patient for her son.  Sue and her mom and boyfriend, all of whom had been visibly unhappy for days, were all very joyful and thankful. Sue was brought to tears. It was very clear that this special effort meant a great deal to a family going through an extremely difficult time.”

Joy Miller, APN II, Children’s APN Support

Nominated by: Lauren Turner, MJ Sacco, and Naomi Howard

“Joy Miller helps the entire provider team keep goals of care at the center of our treatment plan for the children in the PICU. Recently she came in from home on a weekend when she was off-call to help me with an infant. The baby was very ill with an abdominal cancer, and the care team was trying to decide if we should intensify her care or redirect. Joy arrived for a Saturday 7 a.m. family meeting and helped us meet the family’s needs, both with medical decision-making as well as formulating what her redirected care looked like. During the conversation, she offered to have the baby’s home pets come into the hospital for a last visit with the baby. I watched this baby’s mother’s face when Joy offered this. Her face transformed, and I saw grace enter our plan for the care of this sweet baby. Joy is a gentle, tireless advocate for families before, during and after end of life care.

What is also remarkable is how thoughtful Joy is about caring for the providers in the PICU. After a particularly emotional family meeting with a different family, she texted with each member of the physician team to check in on OUR wellbeing. She was in constant contact with the bedside nurses over the weekend, checking that they were supported, that the families’ needs were being met and that the nurses felt emotionally supported. Again, this was all over a weekend when she was not scheduled to work. She has also found that staff members struggle mentally and emotionally during unfortunate situations where medical therapy is no longer effective to support life. She is currently working on a project for a cart that would house resources for all staff members that coaches them in conversation tips, how to talk to siblings, and how to support others.”

Rosemary Quarles, Clinician III, Home Dialysis

Nominated by: Jessica Coleman

“End-stage renal disease is a terminal illness. Patients starting dialysis are scared and unsure of what to expect. Rosemary works with patients and teaches them to perform their own dialysis at home. These patients are often apprehensive, but after training with Rosemary these patients go home and perform their dialysis with confidence as she has provided the best teaching and has prepared them to succeed. This ensures that our patients can have an improved quality of life. Rosemary keeps an open line of communication with her home patients via telephone for any issues and offers support in any way she can within her scope of practice. Rosemary reaches out to our Interdisciplinary team for additional support for each patient as necessary. Rosemary truly represents our ASPIRE values:

Accountability: Follows policy and procedure, is proactive with patients to avoid potential issues. Diligent with documentation.
Stewardship: Performs monthly inventory on unit for supply ordering, checks expiration dates, only orders necessary supplies.
Professionalism: Performs in her role in a very humble way, respectful with patients and staff. Graciously offers assistance to teammates without being asked. Listens to the patient.
Integrity: Educates patients with consistency, respects patient confidentiality. Keeps and open line of communication with the doctors, as well as the entire interdisciplinary team to provide the patients with the best care.
Respect: Treats every patient and teammate with respect. Is an active listener. Treats all patients and staff equally. Respects patients and their individual needs when scheduling appointments.
Excellence: Acknowledges all patients respectfully by name. Considers each patient and individual and is aware of their unique needs. Rosemary does all within her power to assist every patient to be successful on home dialysis, ensuring they have better outcomes and an improved quality of life. Promotes growth for both herself, teammates and patients by supporting educational opportunities.

Jamie Hicks, APN II NP, NNP NICU Clinical Support

Nominated by: Daniele Ottinger

“The neonatal intensive care unit is normally a place filled with joy and promise. It is a place where it is not only the patient that is cared for but also their families. We care for the families through many firsts, some good and some bad. But what is important to note is that we get them through it. This was clearly demonstrated recently by my friend and colleague Jamie Hicks. There was recently a full-term baby delivered under incredibly difficult circumstances resulting in a devastating outcome not only for the baby but also for the family. The infant’s mom was in an ICU setting for several days needing intubation and ECMO to survive. She was ultimately able to successfully de-cannulate and extubate only to be met with devastating news not only about herself but also her newborn child. Through all of this Jamie demonstrated poise, empathy and professionalism. She was instrumental in bringing the infant, who was also intubated and requiring full life support measures, to visit the mom and her family in the ICU so that she could spend time with her infant before transitioning to comfort measures only. She met with the family daily, helped wipe tears and gave hugs when needed. Jamie’s love and support shines through. It is a joy and honor to call her a friend and colleague. She inspires me daily to be better.”

We couldn’t ask for a better team. We’re looking forward to seeing what 2017 brings!