Ernie is such a caring nurse that a lot of our patients have said that he made a difference in their lives. One of them even said that Ernie had saved his life.

This patient was very sick, often feeling tired and miserable, and wanting to give up. Staff that had taken care of him would always report that he didn't want to get out of bed, refusing care and would always request to be left alone. Ernie signed up to be his primary RN, even working the night shift, and made sure that he had a lot of interaction with the patient. Ernie talked to him, encouraged him, and made sure that his wife also received support. Eventually the patient started becoming involved with his care, getting out of his room to walk in the halls, and eating more. He went to Rehab to get stronger and eventually was able to go home with his family.

Ernie will always volunteer to take a work-up transplant even if he already has a full assignment, because he knows it will be less worry for the Charge RN. He will also offer to start IVs for patients, especially the ones with the most challenging veins, because most of the time, he can get it in one try and save patients extra pokes. We have patients who will ask specifically for Ernie when they need to have new IVs.

Ernie is very much appreciated by his patients and co-workers, and acts as a mentor. One of our younger RNs has said that she always feels good coming to work at night when she knows that Ernie is working, too.

Ernie has contributed a lot of time and effort to make sure 4SE is one of the best places to be a patient and a nurse, and for this, I believe he deserves to receive the DAISY Award.