We at Novant Maternal Fetal Medicine would like to nominate Jennifer Leandro for the DAISY Award.  This remarkable nurse is an advocate for her patients and staff, is passionate about her work, and is an exceptional leader by example. Jennifer is an advocate for her patients.

She once called an insurance company to make clarifications and stand up for a patient who was being told her visit at Hopkins for her high-risk twin pregnancy was not covered. She spent hours on the phone getting pushback from representatives, but she was persistent in asking for a MFM physician versus a radiologist to read this important scan because she knew this patient needed the correct specialty. That patient was able to receive the care she needed because of Jennifer’s persistence.

She understands the importance of communication, and once recognized a potential human trafficking situation due to a language barrier between the patient and the father of the baby, along with other subtle red flags.  Jennifer worked out a plan to separate the patient from her caretaker in order to ensure that she was safe and to get her proper care.

She is not afraid to stand up for her staff against the loudest opponents. Patients do not always agree with our policies and procedures, but we are so grateful to have someone in our corner when faced with difficult situations to value us as employees and as people.  She is also incredibly respectful and professional, even when faced with an irate patient.  Her ability to see everyone as human, even in the face of adversity, makes her a true humanitarian.
 
Jennifer is passionate about her role here at Novant.
She encourages her staff and others to be their best selves, think through each process, and allow themselves the time to make the best decision. She offers choices to try to improve workflow and will often ask, “How are we going to approach this?” She values our opinions, but she also reminds us that we’re a team, and our decisions are important and make an impact.

She remembers that patients are people with feelings who just want to be heard.  This week, we had a patient who asked to see her provider on a day he had a full schedule. Jennifer looked through her chart to see how she could help, coordinated with the doctor’s nurse, and was able to get her added to his schedule to address her concerns.  While she was looking through the patient’s telephone encounters, she said, “This sounds like someone who just needs us to hear her.” She reminds us every day of why we do what we do.

There is no better example of leading by example.  When she’s not in her office, she’s cleaning rooms, performing NSTs, covering for our front desk so they can get a lunch, rooming patients, taking out trash, and putting out fire after fire after fire. She values every one of our roles here at Novant.  She knows that all our jobs are important and makes a point to remind us often.  She is the type of leader who likes to understand different perspectives.  For example, she spent one evening watching the fundamentals of ultrasound imaging to better understand how we do our job.

Jennifer pushes for change. She is committed to making resources readily available at our office and has made “Kick Count” flyers for our patients to inform them on how to track their baby’s movements to ensure fetal-being and lessen maternal anxiety.  She is also in the process of updating how we guide and teach our diabetic patients so we can care for them properly and give the most up-to-date information.  She noticed the need for the signs in our office to be updated to include important phrases in Spanish, increasing the range of patients we can effectively reach. 

“Tying things with a bow” is a form of communication that Jennifer is committed to.
She reaches out and calls patients who have lost their babies to check on them, see how they're doing, and let them know we're thinking of them.

If a patient is suffering from a new diagnosis, she makes herself available to answer any questions that she can, comfort them, and cry with them.

She notices if a patient has been waiting a long time or if a patient seems stressed/upset and she brings them snacks and listens to what they have to say.
 
Jennifer is committed to and cares about her staff.
She is consistently aware of the workflow and what lies ahead of us on busy days.  If there is ever a day that we are significantly short-staffed, have an unusual abundance of patients, or have persevered through a particularly difficult day, she bakes us treats.  She even remembers to make her famous trifle gluten-free for those in the office with a gluten intolerance.

She is the Queen of Morale! Jennifer often uses her own money to finance fun activities for us at the office.  We’ve played “Guess the number of Candy Corn” in the jar, last week she brought us homemade pumpkin bread, and we all know there’s a bucket of candy in her office for us if we need a snack or a pick-me-up.  A few months ago, she started an at-work book club where we trade books and give reading suggestions.  She even brought us all bookmarks!

Jennifer makes all of our families a priority by encouraging the importance of family work-life-balance.  She somehow remembers all the activities our kids are involved in and makes a point to ask how they went. She’s understanding when children or pets are sick, when we need to take time out for doctor’s appointments, and she truly gets that self-care can be a full-time job in and of itself.   

We know our concerns are important, and Jennifer will stop whatever she’s doing to listen.  She makes us feel heard, she listens to understand, and she always finds a way to see the positive in every situation.  She truly is our biggest cheerleader.
 
Our community is better because of her.
Jennifer is passionate about her contribution to the community.  She is heavily involved with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, an organization that raises money for cystic fibrosis research and treatment.  As a member of the board of directors, she helped raise more than $200,000 at the Pipeline to a Cure event this year.  Her involvement in other community events in the time she’s been here with us includes raising money for The March of Dimes Benefit, organizing our office team and raising money for The Buddy Walk, connecting in-need patients with resources on where to get free diapers, and collaborating with a local hospital to collect children’s books for those in need.
 
We are so incredibly proud of her and hope that we, as a community, can celebrate her compassion and leadership by presenting her with this award.