Elias Reisman takes the time to make his patients comfortable and ensure their family members understand what is going on. He steps in to help, no matter the task at hand. All nurses, especially ICU nurses, have been so incredibly valuable, especially this past year and some months. Being multilingual, Elias often had to have difficult conversations with patients and families that no one else could have due to the language barrier. Whether it was his patient or not, he jumped in and helped translate, and most importantly, helped those patients and families feel that they were in good hands. He helped fill the gaps that are left from days of not fully understanding what was going on. The emotional toll that can have on a nurse, having to carry that extra responsibility of feeling that you need to help an entire population of patients feel comfortable, has to be very heavy. Elias was always humble and happy to help in any way he could. Aside from that, he always makes sure that his patients are as comfortable as possible and advocates for their needs. If the patients are interactive, he is always cracking jokes and is so personable. He is such a valuable human being and he should be celebrated.

Leslie Mayo took care of a disabled patient and went out of her way to make sure he was ok physically and mentally and did everything she could to comfort him when he wasn't. She also took care of the family and was working to make sure we were ok as well! Out of 25+ years of being around nurses, she is by far the best! She has gotten him to feel so comfortable he looks at her as part of the family and lets her do whatever needs to be done. Most nurses he is scared of and scared to let them near him unless he knows exactly what they are doing!

Trevor Farnsworth was taking care of a patient that was nonverbal at baseline, and unfortunately had cancer. He was admitted to the ICU and was placed on a ventilator. The dreadful day of withdrawing care was upon us. The family was asked to come to the hospital and say their goodbyes to the patient. Trevor took the time to learn about the family and find what food/drink they went to for comfort. The family had expressed that they like to drink tea for comfort. He then took the time to go to the store on his lunch break, to provide the family with some different types of tea. He went above and beyond the call of his profession. He took the time to know his family and patient, and provide them with something familiar during their time of grievance. He takes the time for the little things that most look over, and which make the world of difference to his patients and families.

I could not have made it this far without my nurse, Matt Adams. He went above and beyond my expectations. Countless times he made sure that I was as comfortable as possible. Also, when I was having a hard time eating or drinking anything, he made me special Ensure milkshakes with Ensure, ice cream, and milk to help me get at least a little nutrition. This was important to me because I was unable to eat or drink anything else and this was the only thing that sounded good to me. With my bad hip pain, Matt came into the room so many times to help me get positioned in a way that was comfortable for that time. I know that I used my nurse call light a lot of times, but he was always there very quickly and without a complaint. When I was uncomfortable with the high-flow oxygen I was on, he tried many different things in order to help me to be most comfortable. I appreciate his dedication and kind manner. It has been a long time since someone has been so caring to me. At a time when things were uncertain for me, Matt was there to help me through. His positive attitude helped me to keep a good outlook as well. I want to thank him for all of his great care.

Hannah Lohr is not only a kind and wonderful soul, but she is also an extremely skillful nurse. She was able to recognize and detect that my brother's neurological status may have changed while he was under heavy sedation and sadly my brother had had a stroke on his brain which forced a change in his meds and the overall management of his care. I feel she saved his life. Hannah also always took our calls to update us on my brother and went the extra mile to comfort us by allowing us to FaceTime with him. She never made us feel like we were a bother and was always kind. I specifically requested her to stay as my brother's nurse because he always showed improvements and never had complications while he was in her care. As his family, we feel we owe Hannah his life.

There was a delay resulting in a longer transfer than preferred. When the patient arrived in the room the bedside RN immediately called Sarah Gregg and she went to the bedside for assessment. Sarah knew that this patient needed assistance and called the providers to the bedside for an immediate stroke activation. She acted quickly, got the patient down to the CT scanner where there was still brain tissue to save, and stayed with the patient until he was in (IR) Interventional Radiology for clot retrieval. When this patient came to us he had significant right-sided weakness and complete expressive aphasia and inattention to the right side of his body. Without Sarah acting quickly to get all the teams activated and ready to go, his outcome would not have been the one we hoped for. He is now working to form sentences again and is working on regaining the function of the right side of his body. This quick action and critical thinking helped make a difference for this patient. As a MICU nurse, charge nurse, and rapid response nurse this kind of quick thinking is not uncommon for Sarah. Sarah is an exceptional nurse. It is truly a privilege to have her on the team. Thank you, Sarah!