Lisa Holm
December 2025
Lisa
Holm
,
RN
Geriatrics and Extended Care Service (GEC)
Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital
Bedford
,
MA
United States
As a Veteran herself, Lisa is a strong advocate for Veterans and their caregivers, demonstrating extensive knowledge of VA resources and strategies for navigating care.
Our geriatrics team is delighted to nominate Lisa for a DAISY Award. Lisa is an experienced nurse who is reliable, takes initiative, and consistently goes above and beyond for her patients. Prior to coming to us at the VA, she worked in hematology and oncology, and her colleagues provided glowing reviews of her dedication to patients with cancer diagnoses and her advocacy for patients with hemophilia.
At our VA Geriatrics Clinic, Lisa treats all Veterans and their caregivers with empathy and respect, fostering a warm and therapeutic environment. Lisa provides important longitudinal care coordination through regular outreach to Veterans and their families between appointments for proactive interim assessments and assistance with both clinical and logistical challenges. As a Veteran herself, Lisa is a strong advocate for Veterans and their caregivers, demonstrating extensive knowledge of VA resources and strategies for navigating care. She does not hesitate to provide extra support for all our Veterans and, in particular, those with cognitive impairment who are often in need of additional guidance.
Though the examples of Lisa’s exceptional work with our patients are numerous, here are just a few examples brought forward from members of our team:
1) We care for a Veteran in his 90’s who is a caregiver for his spouse. It is challenging for this Veteran to come to the VA, given his caregiver responsibilities. On more than one occasion, Lisa met this Veteran in person just before other medical appointments at the VA to help consolidate care that would otherwise have required multiple visits. Each time, she made the Veteran feel “like I was not like a burden,” which he expressed was important to him in his What Matters Most conversations with our team, by saying things like “I like getting my steps in, and it is a bonus that I get to see you!”
2) When a Veteran with mild cognitive impairment was recommended to stop a medicine prescribed to treat symptoms of an enlarged prostate (because it was causing low blood pressure and fatigue), Lisa called the Veteran and his caregiver weekly to check in on how he was feeling off of this medicine. Despite the questions being related to the sensitive topics of urination and incontinence, Lisa was able to obtain a thorough post-intervention check, and we successfully deprescribed this potentially dangerous medication.
3) One of our patients is a Veteran in his 90s who was hospitalized for constipation. He shared that the hospitalization was very stressful for him, and he did not want to go back to the hospital any time soon. However, he continued to struggle with constipation and had difficulty figuring out how to regulate his Miralax. Lisa worked closely with this Veteran and the team physician to titrate his bowel regimen, which involved a few stretches of daily phone calls, to help him avoid another hospitalization so that he could continue to spend meaningful time at home with his wife, working on house projects, going to church daily, and caring for his dog.
4) Lisa has used her creativity in helping our Veterans to achieve what matters most.
• For a Veteran who loved to go fishing but whose mobility was worsening, Lisa helped him to identify areas that he could fish safely from a pier.
• For a Veteran who wished to see a specialist in an urban area but faced a barrier of having a caregiver who would not drive in urban areas, Lisa created a personalized shuttle schedule to help him get to his appointment.
In addition, Lisa has demonstrated an impressive commitment to continuous quality improvement. Shortly after joining the Geriatrics Clinic, she took on a leadership role in collecting metrics to help the clinic earn its Age-Friendly certification from the National Institute for Healthcare Improvement. She also recently piloted a nurse check-in sheet to improve clinic workflow, discreetly informing team members of important information gathered at the start of the visit and helping avoid asking Veterans the same question repeatedly. Our team, our Veterans, and their families have been incredibly lucky to benefit from Lisa's outstanding work. She is truly a model of compassionate and skillful care, deserving of a DAISY Award.
At our VA Geriatrics Clinic, Lisa treats all Veterans and their caregivers with empathy and respect, fostering a warm and therapeutic environment. Lisa provides important longitudinal care coordination through regular outreach to Veterans and their families between appointments for proactive interim assessments and assistance with both clinical and logistical challenges. As a Veteran herself, Lisa is a strong advocate for Veterans and their caregivers, demonstrating extensive knowledge of VA resources and strategies for navigating care. She does not hesitate to provide extra support for all our Veterans and, in particular, those with cognitive impairment who are often in need of additional guidance.
Though the examples of Lisa’s exceptional work with our patients are numerous, here are just a few examples brought forward from members of our team:
1) We care for a Veteran in his 90’s who is a caregiver for his spouse. It is challenging for this Veteran to come to the VA, given his caregiver responsibilities. On more than one occasion, Lisa met this Veteran in person just before other medical appointments at the VA to help consolidate care that would otherwise have required multiple visits. Each time, she made the Veteran feel “like I was not like a burden,” which he expressed was important to him in his What Matters Most conversations with our team, by saying things like “I like getting my steps in, and it is a bonus that I get to see you!”
2) When a Veteran with mild cognitive impairment was recommended to stop a medicine prescribed to treat symptoms of an enlarged prostate (because it was causing low blood pressure and fatigue), Lisa called the Veteran and his caregiver weekly to check in on how he was feeling off of this medicine. Despite the questions being related to the sensitive topics of urination and incontinence, Lisa was able to obtain a thorough post-intervention check, and we successfully deprescribed this potentially dangerous medication.
3) One of our patients is a Veteran in his 90s who was hospitalized for constipation. He shared that the hospitalization was very stressful for him, and he did not want to go back to the hospital any time soon. However, he continued to struggle with constipation and had difficulty figuring out how to regulate his Miralax. Lisa worked closely with this Veteran and the team physician to titrate his bowel regimen, which involved a few stretches of daily phone calls, to help him avoid another hospitalization so that he could continue to spend meaningful time at home with his wife, working on house projects, going to church daily, and caring for his dog.
4) Lisa has used her creativity in helping our Veterans to achieve what matters most.
• For a Veteran who loved to go fishing but whose mobility was worsening, Lisa helped him to identify areas that he could fish safely from a pier.
• For a Veteran who wished to see a specialist in an urban area but faced a barrier of having a caregiver who would not drive in urban areas, Lisa created a personalized shuttle schedule to help him get to his appointment.
In addition, Lisa has demonstrated an impressive commitment to continuous quality improvement. Shortly after joining the Geriatrics Clinic, she took on a leadership role in collecting metrics to help the clinic earn its Age-Friendly certification from the National Institute for Healthcare Improvement. She also recently piloted a nurse check-in sheet to improve clinic workflow, discreetly informing team members of important information gathered at the start of the visit and helping avoid asking Veterans the same question repeatedly. Our team, our Veterans, and their families have been incredibly lucky to benefit from Lisa's outstanding work. She is truly a model of compassionate and skillful care, deserving of a DAISY Award.