While working alongside Kiersten Peterson the past two years, her compassion and ability to connect with her patients have never gone unnoticed. Whether on night shift or day shift, Kiersten's patients' physical and mental well-being has always taken priority. Recently, she demonstrated the utmost love and care for her patient’s health.

In our unit, we currently have a comfort care patient who has been with us for almost four months and has slowly declined to finally seek hospice care. As someone who has cared for this patient a multitude of times, I have always noticed they seemed in better spirits when Kiersten was at their bedside. On a particular day, the weather was exceptionally nice, and Kiersten wondered what else she could do besides open the blinds to let the sunshine in. This patient has been inside for almost the entirety of this year, and as they're in the final stretch of days, Kiersten asked if they would like to finally go outside after these long months. The patient's reaction, from what they could express, was ecstatic. With my help, we got the patient safely into a wheelchair and out into the sunshine for perhaps his last time. The patient's reaction to finally breathing some fresh air and feeling the sun on his face was worth every second of preparation.

Kiersten's ability to empathize with her patient and act on it in a caring, loving manner greatly impacted not only the patient but also the whole staff on shift that day. Smiles were shared all around the unit as we were not only happy for our patient but also content that we could offer some relief in their final days.

It was this sense of impact that helped me realize just how much Kiersten has deserved recognition, not only for this instance but for many more that went unrecognized.