July 2026 Honoree
Jodie Bartolotta, RN
It is my extreme honor and pleasure to recommend Nurse Jodie Bartolotta, of the Ioannis A. Lougaris Veterans' Administration Medical Center, VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System, Reno, Nevada, for The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, as she has exemplified total excellence in the delivery of patient care.
I first met Nurse Ms. Bartolotta when I underwent surgery on my right breast at the Ioannis A. Lougaris Veterans' Administration Medical Center and was immediately impressed with her compassion, kindness, and consummate professionalism. These three traits became even more pronounced when she was starting to help me get dressed so I could be released.
When she picked up the blanket, however, we simultaneously discovered I was bleeding from the incision in my breast. Ms. Bartolotta immediately sprang into action to call the surgeon and help stem the flow of blood until the surgeon arrived, all while remaining cool, calm, and collected. All was satisfactorily resolved, and I was released from the medical center.
Just two days later, I feel Nurse Ms. Bartolotta literally saved my life by once again displaying her exemplary traits when I received a phone call from her. Calling to check on me, she naturally asked how I was doing, to which I responded that my breast was very swollen and tender to the touch, but other than that I felt I was doing okay.
Nurse Ms. Bartolotta then asked me if my breast was hard, to which I said no, but it’s not squishy. At that point, Ms. Bartolotta said she feared I might have a hematoma and I should immediately proceed to the medical center’s emergency room.
Not even really knowing what a hematoma was, but hearing the urgency and necessity in her voice, my husband took me to the emergency room, where just about 45 minutes later I was being wheeled into the operating room for emergency surgery.
To my great fortune, Nurse Ms. Bartolotta was on duty when I arrived in preoperative care and once again, took outstanding care of me. I found out while in preoperative care that Nurse Ms. Bartolotta was scheduled to be off duty at 6 pm.
After the emergency surgery, when I returned to the recovery room, imagine my surprise when I started awakening again that Nurse Ms. Bartolotta was still at my bedside, although it was now after her duty day had ended at 6 pm. Yet Nurse Ms. Bartolotta had stayed overtime to assist with my recovery until I was released close to 7 pm.
I cannot express in words how much her compassion, kindness, and consummate professionalism meant to me on that day and still mean to me.
As a retired United States Air Force (1974 1994) aircraft maintenance officer, I have witnessed many traumatic situations and was often in charge of the aftermath. But I have never experienced such trauma to my own body, and I was really in uncharted waters, having had 3 surgeries under anesthesia in just 16 days.
Before and after my surgery, having learned Nurse Ms. Bartolotta was a fellow veteran and why she had become a nurse after leaving the military, I immediately knew that with Nurse Ms. Bartolotta at my side, I was in the best possible nursing hands from the time Nurse Ms. Bartolotta telephoned to check on me until I was released from the medical center that same day.
Then just yesterday, Nurse Ms. Bartolotta telephoned once again to check on me. Although I am recovering, it is going to be a long, slow process. But having received her telephone call yesterday was like receiving a piece of cake with extra icing.
Therefore, it is my fervent hope that Nurse Ms. Bartolotta of the Ioannis A. Lougaris Veterans' Administration Medical Center, VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System, will be awarded The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, as she represents the epitome of the nursing profession.
I first met Nurse Ms. Bartolotta when I underwent surgery on my right breast at the Ioannis A. Lougaris Veterans' Administration Medical Center and was immediately impressed with her compassion, kindness, and consummate professionalism. These three traits became even more pronounced when she was starting to help me get dressed so I could be released.
When she picked up the blanket, however, we simultaneously discovered I was bleeding from the incision in my breast. Ms. Bartolotta immediately sprang into action to call the surgeon and help stem the flow of blood until the surgeon arrived, all while remaining cool, calm, and collected. All was satisfactorily resolved, and I was released from the medical center.
Just two days later, I feel Nurse Ms. Bartolotta literally saved my life by once again displaying her exemplary traits when I received a phone call from her. Calling to check on me, she naturally asked how I was doing, to which I responded that my breast was very swollen and tender to the touch, but other than that I felt I was doing okay.
Nurse Ms. Bartolotta then asked me if my breast was hard, to which I said no, but it’s not squishy. At that point, Ms. Bartolotta said she feared I might have a hematoma and I should immediately proceed to the medical center’s emergency room.
Not even really knowing what a hematoma was, but hearing the urgency and necessity in her voice, my husband took me to the emergency room, where just about 45 minutes later I was being wheeled into the operating room for emergency surgery.
To my great fortune, Nurse Ms. Bartolotta was on duty when I arrived in preoperative care and once again, took outstanding care of me. I found out while in preoperative care that Nurse Ms. Bartolotta was scheduled to be off duty at 6 pm.
After the emergency surgery, when I returned to the recovery room, imagine my surprise when I started awakening again that Nurse Ms. Bartolotta was still at my bedside, although it was now after her duty day had ended at 6 pm. Yet Nurse Ms. Bartolotta had stayed overtime to assist with my recovery until I was released close to 7 pm.
I cannot express in words how much her compassion, kindness, and consummate professionalism meant to me on that day and still mean to me.
As a retired United States Air Force (1974 1994) aircraft maintenance officer, I have witnessed many traumatic situations and was often in charge of the aftermath. But I have never experienced such trauma to my own body, and I was really in uncharted waters, having had 3 surgeries under anesthesia in just 16 days.
Before and after my surgery, having learned Nurse Ms. Bartolotta was a fellow veteran and why she had become a nurse after leaving the military, I immediately knew that with Nurse Ms. Bartolotta at my side, I was in the best possible nursing hands from the time Nurse Ms. Bartolotta telephoned to check on me until I was released from the medical center that same day.
Then just yesterday, Nurse Ms. Bartolotta telephoned once again to check on me. Although I am recovering, it is going to be a long, slow process. But having received her telephone call yesterday was like receiving a piece of cake with extra icing.
Therefore, it is my fervent hope that Nurse Ms. Bartolotta of the Ioannis A. Lougaris Veterans' Administration Medical Center, VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System, will be awarded The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, as she represents the epitome of the nursing profession.
Thank you, Jodie, for your exceptional compassion, advocacy, and dedication to your patients. You truly make a difference.
View More Honorees