It is my pleasure to endorse my nominee, Mercy Alexander, who has been a dedicated nurse and leader. For the last 30+ years, she has worked as a nurse, nurse manager, and currently as a nursing supervisor in ambulatory care. She consistently goes the extra mile to accomplish tasks and demonstrates dedication in all her actions. Mercy is respected in the community and at her workplace for transforming our clinic into a center of excellence and contributing to many success stories. She is always available to staff, patients, and physicians, highlighting her commitment to her work. Her actions speak volumes about her dedication to the work she does.

Mercy treats everyone with respect and is diligent in meeting patients' needs. For instance, when the only RN in the clinic was unavailable due to unforeseen circumstances, Mercy stayed late every day for over a month to ensure smooth clinic operations and patient care. This was a time when clinic staffing was at the lowest point. Despite being new to her leadership role, she managed the situation with courage and determination, willingly putting in extra hours. Her work ethic is notable, and she is adaptable and flexible, assisting patients, staff, and providers as needed.

Mercy has been instrumental in the recent achievements of the mineral metabolism clinic. Since joining UTSW in March 2022, she assessed the clinic’s needs, proposed improvement strategies, and organized operations for optimal patient care. Her leadership facilitated collaboration with various teams, resulting in new SMOs, order sets, and improved patient access. Mercy established structured onboarding and training, boosting staff morale, and reducing turnover, highlighted by an impressive 89% Glint survey score. She was recognized for her high engagement in the UTSW VIP survey, reflecting her dedication to both staff and patients. Mercy is flexible and tackles challenges head-on, providing direct patient care and leading process improvement projects. Her partnership with the provider team led to significant improvements, increasing acute encounter results from 35% to over 96%.

Mercy consistently demonstrates PACT Customer Service Standards and has received positive feedback from patients, staff, and colleagues. One patient commented on her patience, kindness, and excellent problem-solving abilities by sharing:

"Ms. Mercy, thank you for the note and for your patience, kindness, and for keeping me informed plus spending additional time determining the blood tests from two different doctors' offices. You truly are an "Angel of MERCY". You went above and beyond just getting me checked-in for the blood draw for Dr. Leach's office. I hope your Management is aware of the top-notch talents. You are excellent at dealing with challenges that are needed in your position and ensuring things go smoothly with your patients. Thank you very much. Hope you have a great week."

Many of our patients receive infusions for osteoporosis, and she collaborated with the infusion leadership to develop workflows and processes to ensure patient safety and practice. Another recognition Mercy received this month is a nomination as "Compliance Champion." Many of her colleagues stated, "This is apt recognition, as she is not only the voice but also the eyes and ears of the clinic."

We had only eight providers when Mercy started as a nursing supervisor, and now our clinic has grown, adding a 14th provider soon. She has gone out of the way to train new staff and new providers to acclimate to the clinic. The Mineral Metabolism partnership is now expanding to other satellite sites. Her leadership has been instrumental in collaborating with multidisciplinary teams and other ambulatory centers. She has been assisting the cancer center staff to be trained for the Mineral Metabolism collaboration starting soon.

She works with the department facilities administrator at POB to keep her clinic clean, safe, and within regulatory standards. Recently, the clinic space was expanded, and a research area was added. Under her leadership, the clinic has thrived and grown. As a medical director, I appreciate all her passion and efforts and endorse her recognition as DAISY Nurse Leader.