Marie J Manzanaras
May 2022
Marie J
Manzanaras
,
BSN, RN
Community Based Outpatient Clinic-Pueblo
VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System
Pueblo
,
CO
United States
Most importantly, Marie is a compassionate human being. She advocates for all families and positions herself as a leader in family-centered care.
Rarely do physicians have the opportunity to discuss the true heroes that make our lives easier. With this, I have the esteemed honor to nominate Marie Manzanaras for the DAISY Award. One nomination form is not enough, nor will reflect adequately, the impact she has had not just on myself, but on our Veterans here in the Pueblo region. Marie is one of the most professional nurses I have ever worked with, with a consistent, team-oriented approach to healthcare.
From my first day at the VA, Marie immediately took time to bring me up to speed on what our patient panel was like, which patients were the sickest, and what she typically did to make my life easier. She is a highly-skilled, extremely knowledgeable, and compassionate colleague whose drive to connect personally with our patients and their families has no boundaries.
Daily, she calls our patients, without my prompt, to check to see how they are doing. If they were hospitalized, she calls them at the hospital to ensure they are doing okay. She will speak to the hospital social worker to confirm that home health or physical therapy has been arranged prior to discharge to optimize the success our Veterans have when leaving the hospital setting. Marie clearly goes above and beyond her “standard” requirements.
Prior to all my appointments, she takes time to order labs, review imaging, and discuss urgent matters with me. She is the first nurse here in the morning, and the last one to leave at night. Her work hours have no boundaries, she works because she loves our Veterans and our Veterans clearly love her. When she takes time off for leave, I know it will be hard for me as no matter who fills in for her, they are never as thorough as she is. I routinely count down the days until her return.
Most importantly, Marie is a compassionate human being. She advocates for all families and positions herself as a leader in family-centered care. She consistently performs extraordinary acts such as visiting Veterans at high risk at home to check to make sure they are doing okay, speaking to families personally to ensure they understand our care plan and spending countless hours to ensure their success at home to maintain independence. She remains active in the local community, participating in a local Hispanic nurses’ association to help mentor up-and-coming nurses to pass on our decades of experience to our newer generation of providers.
From my first day at the VA, Marie immediately took time to bring me up to speed on what our patient panel was like, which patients were the sickest, and what she typically did to make my life easier. She is a highly-skilled, extremely knowledgeable, and compassionate colleague whose drive to connect personally with our patients and their families has no boundaries.
Daily, she calls our patients, without my prompt, to check to see how they are doing. If they were hospitalized, she calls them at the hospital to ensure they are doing okay. She will speak to the hospital social worker to confirm that home health or physical therapy has been arranged prior to discharge to optimize the success our Veterans have when leaving the hospital setting. Marie clearly goes above and beyond her “standard” requirements.
Prior to all my appointments, she takes time to order labs, review imaging, and discuss urgent matters with me. She is the first nurse here in the morning, and the last one to leave at night. Her work hours have no boundaries, she works because she loves our Veterans and our Veterans clearly love her. When she takes time off for leave, I know it will be hard for me as no matter who fills in for her, they are never as thorough as she is. I routinely count down the days until her return.
Most importantly, Marie is a compassionate human being. She advocates for all families and positions herself as a leader in family-centered care. She consistently performs extraordinary acts such as visiting Veterans at high risk at home to check to make sure they are doing okay, speaking to families personally to ensure they understand our care plan and spending countless hours to ensure their success at home to maintain independence. She remains active in the local community, participating in a local Hispanic nurses’ association to help mentor up-and-coming nurses to pass on our decades of experience to our newer generation of providers.