I am writing to acknowledge how incredible I feel my Director, Devra Cockerille, is. I moved here in 2013 from out-of-state not planning to stay here, but because of how great Devra is, I ended up staying in Maryland for good. I know everyone has worn many hats throughout COVID as we Nurses do, but the tireless work I have watched Devra put in during these times is more than amazing to me.
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I have watched Devra organize agency Nurses, COVID vaccines for patients, staff units that opened up in a matter of hours, volunteer at flu clinics in the community, instruct students, and so forth. We also took on quite a few Geri-psych patients during COVID and our staff was always more than supported by Devra every step of the way.

ACE Unit, which stands for Acute Care of the Elderly, is oftentimes given the more difficult patients because of our reputation of being able to better manage those types of patients.  This is because of Devra. She has truly made our health system age-friendly. I have watched her do all of this with excellent leadership skills and with a positive uplifting attitude. She inspires me every day to be the best Nurse I could possibly be and truly goes above and beyond for her staff, patients, and families.

I wholeheartedly believe the Ace Unit is what it is because of the dedication and love that Devra pours into it. This also includes the Flex Unit too! I have nominated her for the Transformational Leadership Award on multiple occasions, as well as The DAISY Award two times. Devra cares for her staff, listens to our ideas and concerns, and implements ways to improve our unit even more.  I would love to see someone so deserving receive The DAISY Award for being what I believe to be the definition of a Nurse.