Amanda Snay
May 2025
Amanda
Snay
,
BSN, RN
Main OR
Eisenhower Health
Rancho Mirage
,
CA
United States

 

 

 

I would like to nominate Amanda Snay for the DAISY Award. Amanda currently serves as our RN Clinical Coordinator for daily operations, managing various responsibilities such as coordinating cases and arranging meal breaks for staff in the OR. Despite her ongoing daily duties, we would like to recognize one case in particular that has stood out. A 35-year-old male patient was presented as a donor candidate after being admitted to the intensive care unit for some time. The moment Amanda was informed a One Legacy patient, Amanda sprang into action. This included gathering resources to include ensuring appropriate staffing such as RN, surgical tech, anesthesiologist, sterile instrumentation, OR suite, and available time for the planned procedure. Getting this done was challenging due to the fact that she had to continuously communicate with One Legacy to ensure all three organ receiving facilities and organ retrieval teams were scheduled to align with our timeframe and availability. Usually, these types of cases are performed after hours later into the night due to operating room availability, but this case was unique because the patient's family preferred to wait until after his birthday, which was the day prior and him donating multiple organs. He donated both kidneys, heart, liver, both lungs, and pancreas, so imagine the length of time required to coordinate this to satisfy the family's wishes. To recognize his gifts that the patient was about to bestow upon us, Amanda ensured he was respected through a "honor walk" with multiple team members from perioperative services lining the hallway the moment double doors opened to the operating room suite. Amanda then proceeded to the ICU to accompany the patient, family and the One Legacy team to the operating room. To provide a respectful and suitable farewell to the patient while supporting the family in their overwhelming grief, she allowed the family to say their goodbyes to their loved one, recognizing their deep emotions and growing distress. She ensured they had a respectful amount of time while also stepping in when appropriate to take control of the situation, allowing the patient to be move to the OR suite smoothly. Amanda continued on to escorting the patient to the operating room suite for organ retrieval. Thanks to her coordination, five individuals were able to receive donated organs, with one additional donation for research. This is not something we do often during the day, but due to her efficient and careful planning, she successfully organized the process with remarkable precision.