When I think of nursing excellence, Danica Dorlette is the first nurse that comes to mind. Danica is kind, compassionate, and goes above and beyond her roles and responsibilities. Patient advocacy is one area where Danica excels. While many see language barriers as a barrier to care, Danica makes it her mission to ensure that all non-English speaking patients get the same patient-centered care as everyone else. She consistently spends extra time on the interpreter service attempting to not only connect with our patients from a nursing perspective, but she takes great pride in connecting with them on personal levels. 

Most recently, we readmitted a patient well-known to many of us for failure to thrive. This patient often goes without food due to his cultural preferences. After refusing hospital food and made to order food from the Asian amenities menu, he verbalized to Danica that he wanted food from his culture but was unable to order these meals due to translation. Historically, he has tried to leave the unit and hospital several times to order these meals in person. Danica heard his struggle and took it upon herself to inquire about his preferences. She searched many restaurant menus for these items. She created a list of restaurants with the dishes he selected and translated them into his language so he would be able to know how to order them. He was grateful for her assistance and even offered to treat her to a meal. 

Danica promotes quality and equality in all facets of her nursing work. She is an Extraordinary Nurse who is going above and beyond for her patients every day. Her exemplary nursing is deeply appreciated and truly deserves the DAISY Award recognition.