Colette Kaimakis

Colette is the cornerstone of our program. She is astonishing, always driven by doing the right thing for patients to the best of her abilities. She makes sure patients get what they need when they need it. Her job is to care for more than one hundred new kidney transplant recipients each year, plus 200+ patients previously transplanted that require close surveillance. She has instructed hundreds of patients and families over the yeas regarding Transplant 101 before they leave the hospital and after discharge, which translates into 2000 annual clinic visits, where she graciously greets them and coordinates their care. She is extremely detailed and will not say she is done with something until every aspect has been taken care of. Her enthusiasm for her patients is palpable and every patient appreciates and describes her with superlatives. We all trust her explicitly with the lives of our patients and depend on her because she always comes through working extra time until the job is done.

Without her excellence, Transplant Services would not have won the two national awards for excellence that we recently received. Patients adore her. All in all, Colette, in a word, is our angel. She watches over every patient. No matter the conditions, the amount of time or anything else, she delivers patient care safely every time. Colette deserves the DAISY award because she deserves the super-incredible-nurse-job well done award.