Marissa Levine, RN

I am an 84-year-old patient who becomes more worried about surgeries as I get older. My daughter worries as well. I am writing about all of the surgical nurses in the cardiology lab, but one in particular, Marissa, the head nurse..

My comments are based on three surgeries, not just one, so they represent consistent performance. They are all exceptional in any way you could measure them. I have been here now for three surgeries. Marissa makes sure everything goes smoothly and that everyone does their job, but she does more than that. She explains everything that will happen and gives me and my daughter a level of confidence that the procedure will be completed flawlessly and painlessly.

Every time a procedure was completed, she would go over what I had to watch for and help me to my car. Her bedside manner was always patient-oriented, which helped calm my daughter and me.

She should get some recognition just for her outstanding behavior, but something happened on my last visit that demonstrated her medical skills were not her only positive attributes. I asked her to write her name down for me so I could write something about her. When she gave me the paper back, there were four names on it. It was obvious that Marissa was a rare team player who didn't want recognition for herself when they all worked to make it a success. I don't think that would always be the case.

I write about Marissa because I had more contact with her, but she is correct, the team acted flawlessly. Marissa’s daily practices are what York Hospital should expect from all its nurses.