I would like to nominate Lisa Kelly, Perioperative Services Nurse Manager for the Daisy Nurse Leader Award. Though I am very unfamiliar with Perioperative Services, I can only imagine the complexity of work and demands on the nurse manager in that role. Trying to meet physician needs, ensure patient safety while ensuring efficiency in room turnovers, utilization and scheduling. Despite those daily demands, Lisa consistently offers her support to Adult Services. When she is asked to attend a meeting where her service line may be impacted by changes or workflows in Adult Services, she comes to the meeting with an open-mind and willing to help despite the demands in her own department. For instance, if ICU cannot admit a patient due to staff or bed capacity delays, she has her recovery room staff assist with the patient recovery until a bed or staff is available. We never hear that she cannot accommodate us.

One time, the ICU had a donor case, and the family insisted that the procurement be completed on site and the patient not be transferred off-site. The OR schedule was fully occupied. One call to Lisa and she was able to assist, and the donor network patient was brought to the OR, and the family was very appreciative of these efforts.

She has a “CAN DO” attitude. Lisa is very reliable and follows through on tasks or requests made of her. Easily adjusts to changes in routines and assignments. She identifies problems but also provides resourceful solutions. It is truly a pleasure to work with such a high-performing leader. She is an asset to the organization. As a strong voice of nursing, Lisa consistently provides a positive presence in whatever areas of hospital operations she is involved in, not just in Periop Services, to ensure she advocates for safe patient care.