...Through the years, Laura has not only made a positive difference in the lives of our patients and families, but also to our department. Laura's clinical skill and compassionate care exemplify the kind of nurse that patients, their families, and our staff recognize as an outstanding role model. Another great factor that sets Laura apart from others is her commitment to the nursing profession. Besides working in the OR as a circulating nurse, functioning as a charge nurse when needed, scrubbing cases when short staffed with surgical techs, picking up countless call hours in the PACU, she also puts in numerous stressful hours as the departments EMR representative. (A Huge job in itself!) She has also traveled several times to Redwing to help educate staff when the institution went live with the EMR.

Laura not only embodies Franciscan's core values and mission statement, but is an outstanding resource and mentor to her peers. Laura is not one to sit idle while others drown in work. She is flexible and a team player, picking up and rotating shifts to meet department needs. Leading comes naturally to Laura, who has been one of our charge nurses for several years. As a charge nurse and our EMR representative, she is an excellent resource. When someone needs help, you can count on Laura to be there and that there will be a solution to problems that may arise. She is always on top of things, if not one step ahead! Her continued dedicated work with EMR is challenging, and she is always looking for ways to improve and make EMR more functional and efficient. Laura has also developed a worksheet that includes a visual chart for staff and provided education on how to capture patients' charges appropriately. This can have HUGE impacts on patient billing and hospital reimbursement if charges are not captured correctly. She continues to work on nursing documentation segments and collaborates with other FSH staff on aspects of the registration process that can cause slight delays if not properly function like they should. Laura continuously keeps staff updated on EMR changes and when she brings new information forth to staff, she is kind and approachable which allows staff to feel at ease when seeking assistance.

As you can see, (from a very small glimpse) Laura is an excellent resource on the unit; if anyone needs help or has questions on EMR, Laura is there. If improvements need to be made with EMR Laura is there. If staff has questions on equipment or certain surgical cases, Laura is there. Most importantly, during stressful situations, Laura remains calm and focused, and is able to provide support in any way needed.

Laura is a joy to work with, providing valuable knowledge and support to our patients, families, and our department as well as other departments and areas like Redwing. Her compassionate attitude is a testimony that whoever is under her care, whether it be patients or staff, they are in good hands. There is a lot of "behind the scene" EMR work that goes unnoticed by staff and I would like to recognize her for these valuable contributions.

Laura is an advocate for nursing and represents the profession with exceptional professionalism. She isn't afraid to identify an issue and she believes that anything is possible if it improves patient care.