I have had the pleasure of working with Kate for about 6 years and in that time, I have witnessed her provide exceptional care to some of our more medically complex patients. Kate came to Children's Mercy as an experienced nurse. She has always been viewed as a wealth of knowledge and it shows in how she precepts our new hires. You can find Kate setting up scavenger hunts for her new grads to help familiarize them with the unit, educating them on the policies of Children's Mercy, and helping them perfect their clinical skills (which has been huge for our new nurses who didn't have a lot of clinical time due to the pandemic).

Kate and I bonded over caring for a long-term patient a few years ago. When others were uncomfortable taking him, Kate stepped up. She was his primary nurse, and she not only did everything she could to keep him comfortable, but she made sure the family was well cared for as well. In the days leading up to this patient's death, she was very involved in his care and was a resource for the other primary nurses (including me) who were taking care of him.

Currently, Kate has been caring for a very medically complex patient on our unit. This child was a completely healthy boy until a sinus infection went terribly wrong, to where he now needs assistance in every aspect of his cares. It was a no-brainer to assign Kate to this patient because of her skill set. Kate uses her critical thinking, nursing judgement, and nursing skills every shift that she cares for him. Again, when other nurses are not comfortable taking such a complex child, Kate has risen to the occasion. After a major surgery the other night, the patient was moaning, and that was new for him. Kate assured the patient and his family that she would do everything she could to get him comfortable. She turned him, changed him, provided anti-nausea and pain medications, decreased stimuli, everything she could think of until he looked better. She came to me and became emotional, telling me she truly feels like she is the best version of herself when she cares for him. I, too, became emotional because when I see Kate care for this child, I see our mission and our values. I see the definition of a DAISY Nurse. I see the definition of what a Children's Mercy nurse is and should be. Children's Mercy is so unbelievably lucky to have Kate.