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"A positive outcome from a very intense situation."

Congratulations to Nico Cruz, RN, BSN, making three decades in nursing, and a new UVA Health Haymarket Medical Center DAISY Award winner! Emergency Department Nurse Manager Kristen Kirkpatrick, BSN, RN, CEN, nominated Cruz for going "above and beyond" when a pediatric trauma patient was brought in to the ED by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and "began to rapidly decompensate, requiring intubation and numerous medications.” 

The UVA Community Health Nursing Professional Governance Organization (NPGO) honors UVA Health Haymarket Medical Center nurses each quarter with a DAISY Award.

Taking Care in Transit

Kirkpatrick explains that Cruz’s efforts made a considerable difference in the patient’s outcome: “Not only was Nico taking care of this patient, he was met with significant transport barriers that would have led to hours of delays in the patient’s life-altering surgery. When the patient needed to be transferred to a pediatric trauma center, Nico worked with the charge nurse and local Prince William County EMS teams to jump in the back of an ambulance and personally escort this patient, maintaining IV medications and monitoring the ventilator along the way. This had the patient within the Operating Room prior to when transport was even quoted about arriving at Haymarket Medical Center, and the patient was ultimately able to be discharged home.”

In His Own Words

Cruz reacts: “It’s amazing to get recognized! I’m very surprised to have received this prestigious award, but grateful for the recognition. I’m pleased to know the patient had a positive outcome from a very intense situation.”

Cruz has been a nurse for 30 years, with the last five of those years as part of our UVA Health team. He notes he hopes to “eventually teach and pass down my experience to others and mentor new nurses.”

Know a Fabulous Nurse?

"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, or Medical Group, nurse.