There are countless examples that I have witnessed time and time again of how Carmen encompasses the true meaning of The DAISY Award. From the moment you are introduced to Carmen, you will be greeted with a warm welcoming smile and feel a palpable pulse of positive energy.
There are countless examples that demonstrate the ways in which Carmen provides extraordinary, compassionate, and skillful patient care every day. I feel privileged to have witnessed first-hand how human kindness directly impacts patients and their outcomes. In Carmen's current role, she has the opportunity to build lasting relationships with patients while performing procedures. She is an APRN-CNP in Interventional Radiology that performs procedures to include tunneled central venous catheters removals/placements, lumbar punctures, and both ultrasound-guided paracentesis and thoracentesis.
Let me take this opportunity to share a few stories with you to bring to light the way in which Carmen impacts on our patients. Carmen and I went to the bedside to transport a patient to our procedure room for a pending paracentesis. Upon entry to the room, we quickly noted during our interaction that dialogue was strained due to a language barrier. The patient appeared nervous laying in the bed and was not accompanied by any family. The patient was bilingual with Spanish as his primary language. Without skipping a beat, to my surprise, Carmen introduced us to the patient and welcomed him with an introduction in Spanish. This immediately broke down barriers to his care and a sense of ease was overwhelming present.
When patients arrive to the procedure room, they have varying degrees of anxiety and apprehension. The next patient arrived directly to the procedure room for a paracentesis. The patient expressed to me she was having a flood of emotions awaiting cytology results post-procedure. She did not have a hopeful outlook that her cancer results would not show a reoccurrence in disease. This is right before the magic happened. Carmen walked into the procedure room and the patient immediately broke out into tears calling Carmen by name! They embraced in a hug and I immediately knew at that moment Carmen was the light of this woman's cancer journey. The patient expressed that Carmen was her APRN-CNP at The Stefanie Spielman Breast Center when she was first diagnosed with cancer years ago. Post-procedure the patient expressed how Carmen was put into her life for a reason and was her rock throughout her cancer journey! Even though I do not know the results of the cytology for the patient, I know that her life was forever changed by Carmen's empathetic heart and ability to create lasting relationships with her patients.
In Carmen's role in Interventional Radiology, she considers it a privilege to build relationships with patients and provide comfort to them during the most difficult time throughout end of life care. The next patient that Carmen touched has left a profound impact on us all. The patient was a "regular" who came in for weekly procedures. Over time, her health declined and her socioeconomic status was rapidly deteriorating. Her support team at home had vanished and her immediate family did not reside in The United States. The patient became withdrawn and had a flat affect during many of her weekly visits. That was until the day, I witnessed a true miracle when she was gleaming from ear to ear with joy because of Carmen! Carmen loves music and so did the patient. They connected over their love of music and quickly realized that was a shared passion for them. The patient was on the schedule for the same procedure, but this time before she entered the room Carmen had set up a surprise for her. She decked out the room with a disco ball, the patient's favorite music was on the radio, and glow stick necklaces and headbands for all. The patient was singing along and dancing with Carmen during the entire procedure! She was the happiest I had ever seen her! From that day on she looked forward to coming in to have her procedures done. I truly believe that was one of the patient's greatest days she had at OSUMC solely because of Carmen going above and beyond!
Carmen is a compelled employee who tirelessly works to change the culture and the way in which we deliver healthcare. I feel honored and privileged to work alongside her on a daily basis. It is because of Carmen that I have witnessed how human kindness and love is one of life's greatest gifts. Her leadership skills as an APRN-CNP inspire those that surround her to embody changing people's lives. Thank you for allowing me to express what a difference that Carmen is making on the forefront of medicine at OSUMC. And to think these examples are all in a weeks' worth of work for Carmen, simply outstanding!