Jason
Vargas
June 2011
Jason
Vargas
,
RN, BSN, CPN
PACU
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Los Angeles
,
CA
United States
Jason Vargas, RN, BSN, CPN (PACU) is the latest winner of the prestigious DAISY Award at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He is our awardee for the month of June.
Vargas was surprised with news of his win early in the morning of June 9 during a routine staff meeting. Just after the meeting began, bedside curtains behind the group opened to reveal several members of Vargas’ family and members of the DAISY Award Committee, armed with flowers, hugs and gifts.
Vargas joins the ranks of the “Who’s Who of CHLA nursing,” according to Mary Dee Hacker, RN, MBA, FAAN, vice president, Patient Care Services and chief nursing officer. The DAISY Award honoring excellence in nursing care is now celebrated in more than 800 hospitals in the U.S. and internationally.
Excerpts from Vargas’ nomination tell the story in a very personal way: “Dostoyevski said, ‘The soul is healed by being with children.’ If ever there was a healer of the souls of families through the gift of providing extraordinary care to our sickest children, it is embodied in PACU nurse Jason Vargas.
“I have had the privilege of working with Jason for many years and am always amazed at his gentle touch, his always going the extra mile to make a child comfortable as well as to comfort families. Two weeks ago, although this was a small gesture, it meant the world to this child. One of the children assigned to Jason was promised a purple (grape) popsicle by the MD. There were none to be found in the ASC. So Jason said, ‘Wait just a minute’ and he ran down to the main OR and was able to get one just as this child was loaded into a wheelchair. One might have thought he gave the family a check for thousands of dollars because of the smile and delight expressed on the face of this very ill child.
“Jason always does what he says and is creative in the multiple small gestures of kindness he demonstrates to make the entire family more comfortable. Whether it is getting a warm blanket for a nursing mother, or finding the ‘impossible to locate pillow’ to make a child more comfortable, Jason will find a way to accomplish his goal.”
Vargas was surprised with news of his win early in the morning of June 9 during a routine staff meeting. Just after the meeting began, bedside curtains behind the group opened to reveal several members of Vargas’ family and members of the DAISY Award Committee, armed with flowers, hugs and gifts.
Vargas joins the ranks of the “Who’s Who of CHLA nursing,” according to Mary Dee Hacker, RN, MBA, FAAN, vice president, Patient Care Services and chief nursing officer. The DAISY Award honoring excellence in nursing care is now celebrated in more than 800 hospitals in the U.S. and internationally.
Excerpts from Vargas’ nomination tell the story in a very personal way: “Dostoyevski said, ‘The soul is healed by being with children.’ If ever there was a healer of the souls of families through the gift of providing extraordinary care to our sickest children, it is embodied in PACU nurse Jason Vargas.
“I have had the privilege of working with Jason for many years and am always amazed at his gentle touch, his always going the extra mile to make a child comfortable as well as to comfort families. Two weeks ago, although this was a small gesture, it meant the world to this child. One of the children assigned to Jason was promised a purple (grape) popsicle by the MD. There were none to be found in the ASC. So Jason said, ‘Wait just a minute’ and he ran down to the main OR and was able to get one just as this child was loaded into a wheelchair. One might have thought he gave the family a check for thousands of dollars because of the smile and delight expressed on the face of this very ill child.
“Jason always does what he says and is creative in the multiple small gestures of kindness he demonstrates to make the entire family more comfortable. Whether it is getting a warm blanket for a nursing mother, or finding the ‘impossible to locate pillow’ to make a child more comfortable, Jason will find a way to accomplish his goal.”