Kati Sheley
April 2025
Kati
Sheley
,
BSN, RN, TNS, TNCC
Emergency Department
Springfield Memorial Hospital
Springfield
,
IL
United States
When we saw Kati was our nurse, we all felt a sense of comfort, especially my son, who remembered her wit from the last time.
My son recently had not one, but two visits to the emergency department at SMH. Thankfully, each time Kati was his nurse. The first visit was because my son broke his arm due to a fall. It was evident that day the ED was very busy, but Kati volunteered to take him as a patient due to her colleagues' patient acuities, and she recognized he needed medication and treatment fast. Not only did she prioritize getting him treatment, she did so with wit that only a 15-year-old in 10/10 pain would appreciate. Doing so helped keep him in good spirits, although his Friday night plans were ruined and he was in a world of pain. She was timely with his medications and followed up to ensure they were achieving the desired effect. Not only did she prioritize his needs, but she found space for him in a room after being assigned to a hallway bed to ensure the comfort of my son, my husband and myself. She ensured we all knew the plan of care and made sure to round despite caring for other patients so we knew all of my son's care needs were met.
The second visit was due to my son having new seizures. When we saw Kati was our nurse, we all felt a sense of comfort, especially my son, who remembered her wit from the last time. This time, he was in much less pain, and so they had a playful banter back and forth, which I truly believe helped my son through a very scary situation. As one can imagine, this was scary for both my son and our family, who witnessed the event. As my husband recounted the event, Kati made sure to let him know what he did was right by his son and that his feelings of fear among other things were valid as this was a traumatic experience. She ensured we were fully updated on the plan of care and was again timely with interventions including food for a very hungry teenager. Moreover, she helped us communicate the need for a rescue medication for school and home for our son, ensuring we had a safe and well-thought-out discharge plan. Kati was truly a blessing during these two experiences for my son and our family and very deserving to be honored with a DAISY award for her astute assessments, prioritization of cares, timeliness, patient advocacy, patient, and family support, and ensuring the plan of care is carefully considered including discharge components.
The second visit was due to my son having new seizures. When we saw Kati was our nurse, we all felt a sense of comfort, especially my son, who remembered her wit from the last time. This time, he was in much less pain, and so they had a playful banter back and forth, which I truly believe helped my son through a very scary situation. As one can imagine, this was scary for both my son and our family, who witnessed the event. As my husband recounted the event, Kati made sure to let him know what he did was right by his son and that his feelings of fear among other things were valid as this was a traumatic experience. She ensured we were fully updated on the plan of care and was again timely with interventions including food for a very hungry teenager. Moreover, she helped us communicate the need for a rescue medication for school and home for our son, ensuring we had a safe and well-thought-out discharge plan. Kati was truly a blessing during these two experiences for my son and our family and very deserving to be honored with a DAISY award for her astute assessments, prioritization of cares, timeliness, patient advocacy, patient, and family support, and ensuring the plan of care is carefully considered including discharge components.