There are no words to express the quality of care given, and level of compassion shown by nurse Julie during my mother’s stay at UPMC Western Maryland. My mother was admitted to the hospital for what our family initially assumed was a going to be a diagnosis similar to that of a mini stroke. Instead, we received the unbelievably devasting news that she had developed stage 4 lung cancer with which had spread to her brain and soft tissue. This was an incredible amount of information to process within just a matter of a few days since we had seen my mother go from normal activity to this devastating diagnosis without any indication.

While getting the medical issues under control and preventing my mother’s health from deteriorating any further, nurse Julie was there with her providing exceptional care throughout. Julie has an amazing personality which blended well with our large family. She quickly became familiar with my mother and seemed to easily pick up on ways to raise my mother’s spirits and get her to laugh. In addition to her intuitiveness and outgoing personality, Julie’s knowledge as a nurse was above extraordinary. Experience showed that she knew what pain medicines worked best and stayed on top of the times for dosage and possible effects.

Julie was very present in my mother’s room during her entire shift, working tirelessly for 6 days in a row. Julie patiently answered my many questions, and if she wasn’t able, she made the necessary calls to get the answers we asked. In short, Julie was a comfort to all of us during this time through her knowledge and confidence as a nurse and her compassion as a human being.

Note: This is Julie's 2nd DAISY Award!