I spent 7 days in the hospital and was taken care of by several wonderful nurses, and Kathy Bartels was the nurse who stood out to me. She not only displayed clinical skill and knowledge but she was extremely compassionate. As a patient Kathy Bartels's willingness to take the time and answer all of my questions and address my many concerns was greatly appreciated. Kathy Bartels was thorough and took great care to explain everything in detail to me and my husband. I'm the type who worries about everything but she made me feel at ease with each of our conversations.

One of my concerns was my PICC line, during one of her routine checks she tried to flush my line and I winced in pain, she was concerned as I shouldn't have felt any discomfort. She immediately consulted with the doctors following her check and the decision was to remove the line and check for clotting. She was quick to take action and I appreciated her efforts to address the situation quickly and make me feel at ease and as she suspected the PICC line had formed a blood clot in my arm.

Additionally, she not only took good care of me but she was also considerate of my husband who had been by side 24/7 for my entire 7 day stay in the hospital. She never made him feel uncomfortable or out of place, she had fun teasing us about how well we got along and recognized that we must have been married for a long time. She made us feel at ease and we appreciated her humor. It was much needed and it was a comfort knowing that she was there taking care of me. She was also my discharge nurse and I have to say she was very thorough and made sure I understood all of my istructions before she released me. I believe, as does my husband, that Kathy Bartels deserves to be recognized with the DAISY Award, in addition to receiving our thanks and gratitude for her great care.