Kalise has been a nurse for several years and recently returned to bedside nursing – joining our team. I knew she was going to bring “extraordinary skills” because I heard she was an excellent, experienced nurse. But today I got to see firsthand that she’s truly an unsung hero.

Kalise had a patient who was very challenging – he had been consistently refusing care and caretakers. He had been in and out of EGH for about a month. During this hospitalization, Kalise had him for a couple of days in a row and quickly developed a genuine relationship and obtained his trust. Where others easily became frustrated (or even worse, lost compassion) for our patient, Kalise did the exact opposite – she did what she always does; she kept her compassion toward care because it is obvious she truly has the passion to be the best nurse possible. She consistently puts others' needs before hers. She spent time communicating with the patient, his family, and our doctor. She helped develop a plan of care that would hopefully keep our patient home and out of the hospital.

The patient and his family were gracious and wanted to bring her home with them. I am unsure that our patient and his family would have had this great of an outcome without having Kalise as their nurse. Kalise has so much knowledge of care across the continuum, and I strongly feel she should be recognized for her clinical expertise. Kalise is a true role model, and we are lucky to have her on our team.