Meagan is the nurse manager for the Neuro Intensive Care Unit at the University of Maryland Medical Center where my father, J, was admitted last week after experiencing severe and unexpected symptoms. He is scheduled for surgery now, and the entire experience, from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis to surgery (and soon, post-operative recovery), could have been entirely destabilizing for our close-knit family. Megan, however, mobilized her team and has been extremely attentive to my elderly father and his needs, as well as to our needs as a family during this difficult and stressful time.

Though we know that the teams at UMD, from Shock Trauma/CCRU to the acute care floors, ICU, surgery, and post-operative areas, are top-notch when it comes to clinical care, what we really needed to get through this time is to know that someone genuinely cares for my father. Meagan does that. She has made us feel from the moment she became involved that she wants the best for him. When some environment-of-care concerns in one of the clinical areas threatened to take our focus away from my father and his recovery, Meagan stepped in to turn a less-than-desirable situation into one with immediate action and resolution within the hour. She has truly gone above and beyond for us. We are grateful for all of the care team members, but Meagan's empathy, compassion, and decisive action toward doing the right thing for the patient stand out. We will never forget her impact. It is not an easy time to be a nurse, but we hope Meagan knows that her work is appreciated. She is surely in the right profession.