I nominate Elena Nosal for The DAISY Award for her outstanding commitment to patients and families, as well as her dedication to making UPMC Passavant a better place.

Elena's compassion and commitment are clearly demonstrated through her care of an elderly patient on our unit known by all of us as Zak. Elena met Zak almost a year ago, and she has given him outstanding care from the very first time she met him and she has treated him like her own family member over the past year.

It did not take the staff long to recognize that Elena was Zak's favorite on the unit. He would brighten up as soon as he saw her or simply when he heard her voice. Even if Zak was not Elena's patient on a certain day, she would stop and see him as often as her schedule allowed. Soon, it became a nearly automatic decision to assign Elena to Zak on the shifts she worked; she had such a connection with him and seemed to always be anticipating his needs. Elena would always go out of her way to do whatever she could to make Zak's day, from bringing him foods that he liked (including, some of Elena's baked goods) to delivering him a special blanket on Christmas Eve.

Elena not only shows care and compassion to Zak, but also shows the same to his elderly wife. Zak's wife often had a difficult time getting to the hospital and Elena was her connection on the days she could not be by her husband's side. Elena would also go pick up the patient's wife and bring her to the hospital. On one occasion, Elena went home after a long daylight shift, to only return in the evening to drive the patient's wife home. Her extra effort allowed Zak's wife to have more time to visit with her critically ill husband.

I know that Elena has made such a difference in Zak and his wife's experiences here at Passavant. She is truly deserving of The DAISY Award. I am very grateful that I have the opportunity to work with such an outstanding and caring individual as Elena Nosal.