Colleen Pfeifer

It is with great pleasure that I write this nomination for the nurse who assisted us the day our second born came into the world on March 30, 2011.  Colleen was working 7 am - 7 pm shift - lucky for us that she did.  My wife and I had experienced a bit of rough pregnancy, with 10 trips to the ER for pre-term contractions starting at week 26 of the pregnancy. So when the baby came to us 5 weeks early that Wednesday morning, we were relieved but exhausted. Colleen took care of us from the beginning with a wonderful, caring disposition that put any worries out of our mind. We mentioned to her that our first daughter - who was also a premature birth - had to spend 10 days in the NICU. She immediately went about getting all of our baby’s vital tests / information and quickly put to rest any fears we might have had about a second NICU stay. She did this while politely navigating her way through groups of family members and well-wishers popping in to see us.  Beyond all this, she was mentoring a student at the time and allowed the student to take the reins while she coached her from the sidelines. What a positive model for this student.

Colleen was always upbeat, full of information, and just had a motherly quality about her.  At one point, as I sat impressed while observing her tending to my wife and coaching her student, I asked her how long she has been doing this. I was not surprised to hear she's been a nurse for 31 years.  Everything spoke to experience.  I really can’t say enough about how great our stay at Methodist was. Particularly after a rough pregnancy, it felt as close to home as possible. Colleen  had a lot to do with this - it almost felt as if we were a guest in her home. Methodist should be proud to have her, and I am confident that she met and exceeded all of the DAISY Award criteria. It is with my highest recommendation that I submit this nomination letter for the DAISY Award on Colleen's behalf. Her high level of care and compassion was comforting to our family.