Itsuko Valiente has been an RN at CHLA for over 15 years. She has worked on a few of the inpatient units, and from time to time offers to pick up a shift in the Surgical Admitting Department. Itsuko is not only dedicated to the patients here at CHLA, as you can tell by her continued commitment to work at this organization, but she has demonstrated what it means to go above and beyond for our patients, especially those that do not have their biological parent(s) at the bedside. These are the patients who have been brought into our hospital with chronic illnesses and left to be placed into the foster care system.
On one occasion, Itsuko took it upon herself to care for a young man who had been in our hospital from September up until about June/July. This young man was transferred to our unit waiting to be placed. He is quite a handful, given his condition as a short gut patient, and not completely aware of his surroundings. He had a few line infections in his broviac during his hospitalization. However, Itsuko made it her mission to make sure that while this young man was on our unit he would remain free of any line infections. She became our CVC Champion and educated the unit on the care of the patient. She also made sure that not only the nurses knew how to care for this young boy, but also the care partners as he was a one to one sitter patient. She made it her mission to make sure that everyone knew his needs and how to meet them. In the end, toward the time that a foster parent was found, Itsuko helped in educating the parent on the care of the central line. This young man was in our unit from about seven months with no line infections, and/or major medical issues that caused him to remain hospitalized. She also helped in getting him and the foster mother a vest to help protect the broviac from being pulled by the patient himself.
It is both an honor and a privilege to work with people such as Mrs. Valiente. She is a true DAISY Nurse.