We recently had a young patient on our unit who was very seriously ill and could not have visitors for a period of time. A couple of days after admission, the patient became withdrawn and not participating in her care. She expressed being sad and scared. Eileen went out of her way to lift the patient's spirits and make her feel more comfortable. Eileen gave the patient a tablet and set up the bedside tray to prop the tablet up on a positioning wedge so that the patient could watch movies. Eileen brought in lotion that she purchased herself so that the patient had other options other than hospital lotion that she could use during her bath. Eileen even left after her third nightshift in a row and went to Target to purchase an Easter basket for this patient and filled it with all things a young person could want.
On her morning off, Eileen came back and gave this patient the Easter basket. The patient could not speak but wrote on a paper "I love you" to Eileen. Eileen is always going out of her way to make our patients feel more comfortable and taken care of. She takes her time with them, showing them compassion and understanding. She treats them how she would want to be treated if she or one of her family members were in the hospital. She does this every shift and never complains about the workload or her personal needs. She frequently stays longer than her shift requires of her just to go out of her way for patients, talking to family members, calling appropriate resources for extra supplies and help for the patients. She is an incredible advocate. Being able to witness what a difference she made in this particular patient's care was amazing and very impressive.

Note: This is Eileen's 2nd DAISY Award!