Cathy is constantly buying items that her patients need, whether it be clothes, body soap, shampoo, deodorant, shoes... especially for the elders. She doesn't want any credit for what she did. Most of the time she gives the items to the CNA to give to the patient and tells them to say it was from all of us.
At Christmas, she bought a patient a gift that was wrapped and slipped it on their bedside table while they were asleep. When they woke up she pretended she didn't know where it came from, must have been Santa! You should have seen the look on their face! One patient cried and said they haven't gotten a Christmas present in years and it meant so much to them!
Also, if the team coming on is short on staff, I have seen her grab the B/P machine and get vitals for the oncoming shift.
There have been times when a patient would be going to LTC or assisted living and didn't have clothes for one reason or another; when Cathy got off work she would go to the store and buy whatever they needed and not even tell the staff where it came from. She would call me and say, "I have a package or a box for so-and-so in the lobby, would you please have someone pick it up for patient so-and-so?"
She has bought gifts for other employees and put it from "The Staff", not just herself. These are only a few of the reasons I feel Cathy is a true DAISY Nurse. She has a heart of gold!