The nurses and staff of the Roseview Intensive Care Unit weathered all the burdens that were placed in their path this last year. They did it with grace, compassion, sacrifice, and a team spirit that are second to none. Together we were and are challenged with the endless changes of this crisis but on March 6th, 2020 team RICU became the primary caregivers for the critical patients with Covid-19. As such, our satellite unit, SMICU, was transformed into a negative pressure environment. The staff and care providers were completely suited in protective equipment, wearing CAPRs and PAPRs the entirety of their 12.5-hour shift with minimal breaks for hydration, nourishment, or emotional refueling. As an organization and as a society we knew little about the virus at the center of the evolving crisis. Our team put themselves at the forefront of care, with little apprehension, in fact, many of our team volunteered to work more often in this environment to protect those who could not.
They were isolated by the architecture of our campus and the fear of the unknown. The world was becoming a dangerous place and the resilience of our team was being challenged. We kept hearing of the fluidity of the situation and how our bandwidth was taxed but the caregivers of RICU took amazing care of the patients and their dedication to keeping up with the newest evidence-based treatments was palpable. They were flexible enough to create new processes that were implemented system-wide. They took a closet, a few racks, and personal protective equipment, and turned it into a systematic donning and doffing area to ensure the safety of our team and our patients. They coordinated with family members who could not be with their loved ones and fine-tuned communications with Ipads and Zoom
As we continued to care for the most vulnerable people in our community they lost many and saved few. They communicated with families as their loved ones passed, one hand on an IPad and the other in the hand of their passing patient. Nurses’ passion for our patients, and their isolated stressed families, was at the forefront of the crisis, and they were held to a high standard of humanity. They celebrated the first breath when the ventilator was discontinued, all the while holding their own with hope the breathing continued. Because of everything they did, and everything they were to each other we have the opportunity to see optimism and compassion in our community.
They never stopped heeding the call that our society was demanding. Their relationships with our patients were those patients' only hope that they could someday reconnect with their loved ones. Our heroes in scrubs were and are the epitome of every day amazing. We all know our journey through this crisis has not ended. Decisions and changes are going to continue to impact our workflow, and our daily lives, flexibility continues to be our strength. As our society, community, and organization phase into what may be our new definitions of normal, we recognize the compassion team RICU has shown for each other. We appreciate with more authenticity the work we are able to do every day. We are grateful for the ability to make a genuine difference for our families and our community. They are the chance for a better world! They Believe in themselves! They Believe in their Team and continue to BE KIND to both!

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A letter from a patient’s family member that exemplifies the care Roseview Intensive Care Unit provides:

I didn’t get a chance to thank you for all that you and the ICU nursing team did for me, and more importantly for my son J, during his stay in the ICU.
You are literally life-savers. Your skilled and compassionate care brought my son back to life; his body, soul, and spirit. As a parent, I was experiencing such a tremendous sense of fear, helplessness, and loss of control as I watched my son fight for life. Knowing that he was in your confident care allowed me to release some of those tensions and be present to him, his mom, and myself. Each time you walked in the room with your wonderful smile and your confident matter-of-fact demeanor, I found myself taking a deeper and more relaxed breath. Thank you.
Thank you for treating my son with dignity and a caring spirit. He was just another unconscious patient who had put himself in this medical crisis by his own doing. My son is a heroin addict and his addiction had put him in your ICU. You saw him as a patient who deserved your 25 years of expert experience. You gave him the dignity that most people would say, as an addict, he didn’t deserve. I thank you that you saw him in his fullness as your patient, as the person he was, is, and might be; not as an addict, but as J. The J that you helped to save is a man addicted to heroin. He is also a tender-hearted man, a beautiful son, brother, uncle, who has a love for life and a heart for the downcast and brokenhearted. In his addiction, he has lost track of who he really is. Maybe he will use this moment to regain his true identity, maybe he won’t.
Thank you for giving him another chance to try. Thank you for treating him as a whole person who has the possibility for healing. Thank you for what you do every day for so many people, touching so many lives. You and your team are truly agents of mercy.
God Bless you and thank you.
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Team Members honored with this DAISY TEAM Award:

Jamie Agee, RN
Sarah Barnum, RN
Brandi Bettinghouse, RN
Jonathan Blea, RN
Jazmyn Bozarth, RN
Heidie Briant, RN
Melissa Byrne, RN
Sydney Carlson, RN
Jennifer Cavasos, RN
Heidi Col, RN
Kristi Coleman, RN
Zoe Corkill, RN
Amanda Cox, RN
Amanda Cuara, RN
Ricardo De La Cruz, RN
Jessica De Los Santos, RN
Marcus Diaz, RN
Ian Dwyer, RN
Jennifer Farran, RN
Stephanie Flak, RN
Karrie Gay, RN
Cheryl Gibbons, RN
Emily Gore, RN
James Grant, RN
Lauren Gudgel, RN
Tiffany Harper, RN
Anna Hardiman, RN
Natalie Hinojosa, RN
Kristen Kalisz, Rn
Julie Kalkbrenner, RN
Briana Kengott, RN
Lori Knuf, RN
Monica Koppit, RN
Victoria Lanski, RN
Jennifer Larkin, RN
Hayley Listmann, RN
Ani Ludel, RN
Kendall Lujan, RN
Alexa Lupori, RN
Ashley Maples, RN
Cassandra Perez, RN
Claire Pfeiffer, RN
Katie Roesler, RN
Raven Rollins, RN
Nancy Schlefstein, RN
Emily Sharpe, RN
Anil Talwalker, RN
Christina Wecker, RN

Critical Care Ancillary Staff:
Chris Ward
Elizabeth Haliwell
Ashli VanZant
Aja Johnson
Nicki Strudeman
Missy Moffett
Eddie Arroyo Castillo
Bri Freeman
Jessica Turngren
Karina Castro
Mallori Rouse
Jamee Payne
Brittni Aguirre
Tayler Vatella
Julie Blakeley
Anna Carr
Kayla Whitney
Kelsey Wolanin
Quincy Shaw