Veronica Freeman
Purity – the absence of imperfection. Veronica would be the first to admit that herself or the Cerner system (as with any electronic medical record) was not without imperfections, but she was intuitive enough to know this and use this as a benefit. Knowing the limitations of the system, assured she was able to teach us those limitations and plan for them and the workflow processes that needed to change to accommodate them. Innocence – Now this one we would have to stretch a little, because Veronica was definitely not innocent, in fact, I would have to say she was probably the instigator of many a silly prank that would get the whole team laughing hysterically, when what they really wanted to do was cry, because it just seemed so overwhelming with implementing 32 solutions in 9 months. Loyal love – This is where Veronica, went above and beyond the call of duty as our Cerner Rep. Because she became more than that, she became family. One of our nurses (Mary) during the project learned that her 23 year old son was diagnosed with an incurable cancer and he was living in Texas, with his wife and small child. The home conditions they were living in were not of the highest standard and of course Mary was completely distraught not having the means to get them back to Ohio. Veronica offered to give Mary her frequent fly flyer miles to go out to Texas and bring her son home, which she did and was able to spend the quality time with him over the next month before he passed. Beauty/Patience– Beauty is measured both outwardly and inwardly. Veronica never entered a room without a smile on her face and heart and believe you me, there were some days after listening to our team complain relentlessly she would have wanted to do anything but smile. But it was that smile that kept us going and pushing thru even when we kept saying, “I quit”, she would encourage and keep us going, saying, “you can’t quit - look how far you have come.” Simplicity – We started the Cerner implementation in our hospital, with nursing only having limited experience with an EMR. And I mean limited, the only exposure we had was with registration and order entry lab and radiology. Veronica took the monster of 32 Solutions in 9 months down to the simplest of terms, making a group of nurses reach well beyond what they thought they were capable to implement an EMR that would make the patient experience at our organization a quality and safe one in an electronic world. As you can see, Veronica, our friend and family member and your colleague, exemplifies an extraordinary ability to come into an organization and not only teach them a new world of health care but join them in that journey to excellence. Thank you for the opportunity to share with you, what she so blessed us with. On behalf of the nursing staff at Magruder Hospital, Port Clinton, Ohio, I would like to nominate Veronica Freeman for the DAISY Award. |
The flower symbolism associated with the daisy is purity, innocence, loyal love, beauty, patience and simplicity. What a more perfect representation of our Cerner Associate, Veronica Freeman.
