Cass was nominated for The DAISY Award for the many ways she continuously goes above and beyond for our patients, families, and teammates. As a clinical supervisor for critical care, she is always available when her team has a need; whether for clinical or emotional support, she is always there. On many occasions, Cass has made herself available and talked teammates through a situation despite her having the day off. She is very in tune with her team and fellow leaders and picks up on needs that some do not mention.

An example was when Kelly, her fellow supervisor, found great nursing joy and purpose in precepting a new grad RN. Due to charge nurse needs in our sister unit, Kelly would have to forfeit most of those precepting days. Cass stepped in and spoke to one of the other supervisors to devise a plan. Cass and Sarah agreed to work on both unit schedules to ensure that our sister unit had a charge nurse on all day shifts so that Kelly could take a step back from the charge role and continue to precept this new grad RN because Cass knew it meant so much to her.

When Cass stepped into the supervisor role, I asked her what area/project she felt passionate about. Unsurprisingly, she said "the Journey program," which was near and dear to her heart, and she felt like she could impact and support nurses new to the ICU. Since stepping into her supervisor role, Cass has assumed ownership of the journey phase meetings with Carol Woodard and has mentored new ICU nurses by sharing her journey stories and supporting them every step of the way.

Cass's compassion and empathy for our patients and families is undeniable. There have been many critical situations when Cass has been the lead RN whose responsibility is to guide the team, but in those moments, she also shows great empathy and compassion toward our patients and families.

One situation that quickly came to mind was a patient who was a young mother with an imminent prognosis. Our team is always empathetic and compassionate during these difficult times, and one way our team helps families through their grief is through the heartbeat in the bottle. Cass went the extra mile to help this family because she knew their news was sudden and unexpected. After work, Cass went to buy some picture frames and washable ink. Cass made fingerprint pictures for the family and included the picture with a poem she framed. The family was so touched by this gesture.

That is one of many acts of kindness our patients, families, and team regularly see from Cass. She is a perfect example of what The DAISY Award represents.