This nurse’s clinical skills and especially her compassionate care exemplify the kind of nurse that our patients, their families, and our staff recognize as an outstanding role model. She consistently meets all the following criteria: Consistently demonstrates excellence through expertise, extraordinary service, and compassionate care. This nurse goes above and beyond and works well with the interdisciplinary team. Values include: +Caring +Integrity +Advocacy +Respect +Accountability +Competency

Lori has been a nurse since 1989 and worked for Tampa General Hospital for as long as I have been alive. Currently, her position is the Rehabilitative Service PPS Coordinator. When we were still Inpatient Rehab, Lori volunteered to assist and teach during mandatory education of the frontline care team. She would present to all Inpatient Rehab team members how to score quality indicators and made an entirely new presentation to help nursing and therapy through re-certification. She would ask me about different nurses, what shifts they worked and if they had any barriers to learning. She made content fun and had an open and empathetic way about her that made others at ease. She cared so much to help them understand quality indicators so the patient would receive the correct amount of rehab days. She would even offer to come in to work 1:1 with RNs.

When Inpatient Rehab Closed, Lori began coming to assist as supplemental staff doing frontline video monitoring, call light response, PPE coordination. She was and remains a light. Everywhere time she comes on the unit she brightens the faces of us all. I was the nurse for a patient who had an infection from a VP shunt causing her to present like a stroke patient with poor communication. Lori would ask for updates on the patient every day. She would then call the husband and come back to me with any questions he had if she couldn’t find the answer herself. Lori demonstrated extraordinary service and compassionate care as she took it one step further and would feed the patient her meals. As she fed the patient Lori would have the husband on video chat. Hearing them in the room it was like they all were old friends. She kept their conversations so bright and positive. She made them laugh and the patient would be glowing after a visit with Lori and her husband on video chat.

Many supplemental staff that came to the unit only assisted with stocking or running supplies. Lori didn’t have to go in any of the COVID patient rooms as supplemental staff, but she did. Lori recognized the needs of our unit and our patients and went above and beyond to work with us. Not only was she an advocate for that patient but many others. She was caring and respectful of the patient, their families, and the interdisciplinary team working with them. She continues to come to our unit even as we have transitioned to MedSurg.

Lori is an outstanding role model. She asks people what they do in their roles and how she can help. Most recently she tried to learn how to do CLABSI audits. I look forward to working with her as does everyone else on 4H. She makes a difference in so many people’s lives with the super-human work she does every day.