The Nursing staff in MH RRTP were providing direct patient care, on-site, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. When other services were halted, and other staff began working from home, the nurses in MH RRTP continued to show up day after day to serve our Veterans, during a time of great uncertainty and fear, the MH RRTP Nursing staff pulled together, created a streamlined process for admitting Veterans to MH RRTP despite other areas ceasing services.

While we were cohorting Veterans, our nursing staff advocated for the Canteen services to bring up a 'snack cart' so our Cohort Veterans could choose some items for purchase off the cart while they were quarantined to the unit for 14 days. This was a huge satisfier for our Veterans. We had 20+ who were Covid + at some point during their stay in MH RRTP. These 20+ veterans choose to stay in MH RRTP and quarantine/recover. Our MH RRTP nurses never skipped a beat caring for these Veterans. The nurses were acutely aware of the negative impact isolation could have on a Veteran while they were in quarantine. They all had a unique way of engaging with the Veteran(s) while on isolation. They advocated for recreation to provide virtual groups, they ensured that none of their provider appointments were missed. Often times this meant assisting the Veteran with technology in order to connect with provider virtually. Most often, our nurses would spend time visiting with the Veteran as time allowed. We had countless compliments about how engaged our nursing staff was.

Our MH RRTP Nurses did all of these things while also managing other aspects of the milieu. They continued to provide world-class care despite staffing challenges, copious amounts of overtime, and mandating along with the uncertainty of the exemption process. Our MH RRTP nurses also took on collateral duties in the face of COVID as well. They managed to absorb the requirement to train and then conduct antigen swabbing for each Veteran weekly. They also took on the responsibility of swabbing each MH RRTP Employee for COVID weekly as well. The resilience these nurses exhibited during this entire time is inspiring. They honored our mission and continued to provide the exceptional care that this MH RRTP is known for and did so with care and compassion. This MH RRTP truly has Extraordinary Nurses deserving of the DAISY Team Award.