Passion and Compassion for Nursing: Barb truly loves being a nurse and caring for patients and their loved ones. She goes above and beyond every single day to ensure patients receive excellent care. Barb takes her own patient load in addition to providing leadership to her team. Barb has a high energy level and is constantly on the go, working hard from the minute she arrives at work until the moment she leaves for the day. Barb is very outgoing, has a bubbly personality, and is very friendly to all patients and their families. 

Excellence in the Situation: Barb has a strong work ethic! No one works harder than she does! On a daily basis she is caring for patients of her own and at the same time she is providing guidance, help, and support to the other nurses in the department. She is answering questions, helping with IV starts, orders in EPIC, therapy plans and so much more. Barb has an excellent rapport with the Surgeons and Anesthesia providers and is well respected by them. She assists them with orders, EPIC issues, finding patients in the department, answering questions and just knowing everything about all of the patients. She knows the Drs. documentation in EPIC as well as she knows the nursing documentation so she is able to troubleshoot EPIC issues with the Drs. All the while she is completing her supervisor responsibilities! Barb welcomes students in the department and makes sure that they have a positive shadowing experience. 

Trust and Teamwork of families, patient,s and peers: The thing I admire most about Barb is her passion for what she does every day. She loves her job, the department she works in, the staff and the patients, and Mercy Hospital. She takes a lot of pride in doing what is right and best for the patients in everything that she does. She radiates passion and happiness for what she is doing each and every day! She has fun at work and her laughter is contagious! Barb is a huge patient advocate striving to make sure every patient in the department receives excellent care and a safe experience. 

Admirable attributes: Barb is an experienced and excellent nurse. She takes exceptional care of her patients. She develops a good rapport with patients and is skilled at reducing patient anxiety. Barb communicates in a professional manner and represents our department in a favorable light wherever she is or with whomever she is talking to. She is well respected in the hospital by staff, leaders, and physicians. Barb is very welcoming to new providers, gets to know them, develops a relationship with them from day one, and provides them with assistance and support. Barb never assigns anyone a job or asks anyone to do something that she would not be willing to do herself. She is an excellent role model for the nurses in the department. 

Love and Reverence for the Patient and Nursing: Barb takes the time to really get to know her patients and uses humor to ease their fears. Barb is especially good with Pediatric patients, she is patient with them and gives them the extra time and attention they need. These patients do things for her that they may not do for another nurse or a parent, like getting them to take oral pre-op medications. She has fun with them and is able to put them at ease at a time that is very scary for them! 

Barb is a loyal and committed Mercy employee who has given her work life to this hospital. We are fortunate to have her working at Mercy! She is very deserving of the DAISY Award!