January 2015
Cheryl
Austin
,
BSN, RN, CCRN
Float Pool
Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics
Tyler
,
TX
United States

 

 

 

Cheryl took time to answer all my family member's questions when he was afraid. She never made him feel like she was too busy for him. She helped him get a bath without him feeling like a "weak helpless old man". I know that sounds like a small thing, but for my father-in-law it was major. He died the next week in hospice and he continued to talk about Cheryl frequently, always referring to her as one of his angels.

...

Cheryl is an exceptional nurse, providing excellent care for her patients. What sets her apart from her peers is that she anticipates needs. She is proactive, not reactive. Cheryl is good at communicating with the patient and the patient's family. She is assertive and firm when she needs to be, and yet compassionate and caring when the situation warrants it. It is easy to see that everything she does pushes the patient along the road to recovery. She has good rapport with the patient/family and obvious respect from the physician staff. I can think of no one more deserving than this nurse for this award.

...

My sister had taken a turn for the worse, and I did not fully understand how serious it was. Cheryl called me to tell me that I needed to realize that my sister was living her last days. I cannot even begin to tell you how much that telephone call meant to my family and me. When my sister continued the downhill trend, we were much better prepared to cope with everything we were seeing, hearing and feeling. Because Cheryl let me know about my sister's condition and prognosis she enabled me to ask appropriate questions of the doctors, nurses and other members of the care team. It was the best thing she could have done for us at that time, and her action made a huge difference to my family and me.

...

Cheryl has such a beautiful smile. She is an amazing go-between the doctors and their patients. She came into the room like a ray of sunshine. She pulled up the drapes and wrote down three basic goals that she wanted to get done for the day. She said the doctors wanted to see this happen and she would work with my loved one to help him achieve those goals. She knew that she was dealing someone experiencing severe pain but she knew what she had to do in order to make his recovery a lot faster. She had compassion but in a firm way.

...

Cheryl was compassionate with my problems and cleaned me up all by herself and never asked for help. She was always smiling and talking while doing this. She deodorized the room. She needs to win the DAISY Award for doing all this by herself. She never called for help. She treated me with nothing but respect.

...

Cheryl has always been an advocate for her patients and has always demonstrated the willingness to do the right thing for the patient. This case was no different. She was caring for a critically ill patient. This particular patient began to decline and she was his advocate. In fact I truly believe that she was instrumental in having saved his life. She advocated for this patient until a surgical consult was made. As a result this patient was taken emergently to surgery. I had the opportunity to visit with this patient and his wife after surgery. He was so moved and thankful that this nurse cared so much for him. He told me, "I will always be thankful for her and for what she did for me, I will never forget her". This incident is just an example of the care Cheryl provides and I am extremely proud to call her a colleague and friend.

...

Cheryl frequently monitored my test results and kept the doctors informed of my condition so I could have my scheduled surgery. My platelets were very low and she went above and beyond what she had to do. She cared about me and talked with me and my wife so we could understand what was going on. She was great. Thank you for your kind, compassionate care.

...

Cheryl went above and beyond in her efforts to support pain control measures for a patient as well as assisting in transitioning the patient to medications that are appropriate for home use. I routinely work with patients needing pain management and I was impressed with her ability to convince the physician that changes needed to be made as well as her compassion when educating the patient on the necessity of these changes. She was a model patient advocate that others could learn from by example. Even though she does not routinely work on this unit and came to help on just this one day, she proved herself to be strong asset and I would look forward to her floating to our unit to help us again anytime.