This Emergency Department patient was gravely ill with many family members around her. After resuscitating and stabilizing her to the best of our ability it was clear that continued efforts would not prolong her life. The decision was made to make her comfortable and withdraw support. This is not a usual occurrence in the ED, but this patient was not going to survive long enough to make it to an inpatient bed without much more aggressive measures, all which would have been futile. This was not Kim Rechner's patient, she had a different assignment that day. What qualifies Kim for the DAISY Award (in addition to the daily acts of kindness for which she is known) is that she took it upon herself to connect with this patient's family and ask permission to help out where she saw a need. Kim has ICU experience and is very skilled at end of life care. She stayed after her shift to carry out the comfort care orders for this patient and support this patient's family members (there were about 12 of them in attendance) as this patient's care was withdrawn and she died.

Her efforts that day were greatly appreciated by the patient's family, the chaplain, the ED physician, and the ED staff. Instead of watching from a distance, Kim stepped forward and confidently inserted herself into a situation where she knew she could help and be of comfort. This takes true caring and courage.