Danielle C Hansen, BSN, RN

What stands out most about Danielle is that she saw something no one else did. I have been admitted to 13 Pavilion, and over several days, my temperature has been quietly climbing. My baseline runs lower than 98.6, so the change was easy to overlook, but not for Danielle.
When she took over my care, she did not begin with tasks. She pulled up a chair, sat down beside me, and told me she had gone back through my records and noticed my temperature trending upward. She explained that pneumonia is one of the leading causes of infection in the hospital, and then she asked me something no one had thought to ask. Had I been brushing my teeth? I admitted that I had not. She brought me several Oral Care toothbrush sets, explained how something as ordinary as oral hygiene can help prevent potential infections, and asked me to brush several times a day.
I followed her instructions exactly, and those health care teachings may have saved me from getting an infection because of my becoming complacent about my personal hygiene while in the hospital. Her attention to detail and her patient advocacy helped me tremendously.
And the pneumonia talk is only part of the story. Over the many days Danielle has been my nurse, she has cared for me in ways both large and small. Because I am over six feet tall, she tracked down a bed extension and installed it herself so that I could finally rest comfortably.
She has sat with me and patiently answered every question I had about my lab values, my condition, and my treatment plan, and when something fell outside her scope, she found the answer for me right away rather than leaving me to wonder and worry. Most of all, she has given me comfort and honest insight as I face a serious medical condition, the kind of reassurance that is not always easy to put into words but that I felt in everything she did.
She is an asset to Jefferson. I have submitted DAISY nominations before, but Danielle’s care and attention to detail allow me to say, without any hesitation, that she is the most attentive and caring nurse I have ever experienced at Jefferson or any other hospital.
***
From the moment Danielle became my nurse, she seemed to know what I needed before I did. She anticipated things I had not even thought to ask for, and her attention to every small detail made my stay far more comfortable than I ever expected. It was clear in everything she did that she truly cared about how I was doing, not only as a patient, but as a person.
When my pain was hard to manage, she did not give up on it. She worked tirelessly alongside my physicians until my medications were adjusted and my pain was finally under control. She also understood that my recovery did not rest on me alone. She sat down with my wife and patiently taught her how to use my drains, and to make it easier for her, she marked the containers herself so the output was simple to read and record. It was a small gesture, but it lifted so much of the worry from both of us.
Even as I prepared to go home, Danielle’s concern for me did not stop at the door. She did everything she could to keep me comfortable and to ease the anxiety and uncertainty that come with a hospital stay. I will not forget the care she showed me and my family.