Karen Gurganus, BSN, RN, RNBC-MED

I am the ex-wife, but best friend, of a long-term patient here in Greenville, named K. He was in the hospital for several months. During that time, I had several concerns about his care arise. I live 5 hours away and it was a real challenge to get to visit. Sometimes, I had a hard time getting updates on his condition and sometimes K was so depressed he wouldn't eat or participate in physical therapy. He lost so much weight, and his depression really affected his ability to do what he had to do to get better.

I called Tell Us Now and my concerns were assigned to Karen. Over the next several months, I knew I could count on Karen to do whatever was in her power to make sure K was being well cared for. She thought of things I never would have thought of - she had the staff bring the therapy dog to see him every week, which immediately lifted his spirits. She has chaplains come to see him and pray with him. She went after work, met him in person, and shared her number with him in case he needed anything. Karen also stayed on top of the case managers about the medical team and advocated for him with everything she had. 

One day, when she was about to leave from visiting, he asked her if she knew how he could go about getting a shave and his hair cut and Karen told him, "I can do both. I'll bring my stuff tomorrow, and I'll come see you when I get off work." And she did! She brought him his favorite snack, helped get him to drink more by buying him flavored water drops, and gave him the best haircut and shave he had in months. She is a real gem. If every nurse were like Karen, you'd have to give out a lot more awards! For all of these things and more, Karen deserves the DAISY Award. She made a real difference in his recovery, and he would not have been able to discharge to rehab if it weren't for her.