Sarah is one of the most compassionate people I've ever met. She is the type of nurse I would want for my own family members in the hospital. I've watched Sarah sit bedside with a patient and hold her hand when she was crying and scared. She constantly listens to her patients and communicates so well with them. We typically discharge our patients within a few days after delivery, but occasionally we get patients that have to spend a lot of time on our floor. When they get discharged, Sarah will go downstairs to the gift shop and get them a beautiful card and have everyone fill it out for them and give them hugs goodbye. She celebrates patients' birthdays, and encourages everyone to come and sing happy birthday to them to make them feel special and their day a little brighter for having to spend their special day in the hospital.

Sarah is honest and trustworthy. Even though she has 20+ years of experience, she remains humble and shares her knowledge and experience with new nurses and her peers. She has been at Parkland for 7 years and has been dedicated to her patients and this hospital. She is a good mentor for new nurses and is constantly educating student nurses and orienting new employees and always developing good rapport with them. She has been a great mentor to me during my 2 years here at Parkland. Every time I've ever asked for help, Sarah has helped me, even if were all busy, and she helps me understand things without ever looking down on me.

Sarah is respectful to all patients and coworkers, and is respected by her peers. She is honest and works hard as charge nurse to make sure we have all of the resources we need. She goes out of her way to get equipment if she sees you're busy, without even having to ask for help. She always takes matters into her own hands and gets the job done if she sees you're struggling.

Sarah collaborates with the staff to provide the best care for all of our patients. She works well with others. Sarah orients a lot of new employees and is a role model for how to be an outstanding Parkland nurse. Her coworkers constantly acknowledge her for lending a helping hand during shifts on our bulletin board for various reasons. Sarah is a true servant leader. When I took on this position I was a new nurse and had heard "nurses eat their young." She constantly greeted me with a smile, always hugs everyone, thoroughly explained everything I didn't understand, and has been an excellent resource for me. There have been multiple occasions where I've needed an IV started for a patient that is a difficult stick, and she doesn't hesitate to help me out. We call her our own unit's RAT nurse, because she is amazing at IVs and she remains so calm during stressful, emergency situations and takes action effectively.

Sarah is the definition of excellence here at Parkland. She constantly is working on ways to improve processes, volunteers to step up and do whatever we need, and she gives 110% on every shift. She always has a smile on her face. She rarely complains about things and values her position here at Parkland.

Sarah is very responsible with stewardship. She manages resources responsibly and effectively manages as charge to ensure we have the correct number of staff for the budget.

I'm nominating Sarah Thomas for the DAISY Award because she encompasses everything a great leader and a great nurse should be. She is respectful, caring, nurturing, respectful, a hard worker, and does so with a smile on her face. She is constantly looking for ways to improve our unit and improve the patient experience. She puts her patients first, and actually puts all of our unit's patients first before herself. She sits down at the bedside with them and listens to their concerns and advocates for the patients. She constantly works hard, checks in on patients that she's not taking care of, just to make sure that everyone is happy. Sarah always encourages everyone to work as a team, and is an exceptional leader as charge nurse. She has volunteered to help get everyone ready for the transition from old parkland to the new building.

I've watched Sarah holds the hands of crying patient's and give them words of comfort. I've watched her get everyone on the unit to sing happy birthday and sign a card for a mother that was hospitalized on her birthday. She constantly goes out of her way to make sure she acknowledges her coworkers for a job well done. Our patient's comment cards are constantly filled with comments of how great Sarah is as a nurse. Not only do all of the patients adore her, her coworkers do too. When she is charge nurse, no matter how crazy it gets, she makes everything better with her calm attitude and voice, and ensures everyone is taken care of- patients and staff. Sarah has been such a positive role model for the type of nurse I want to be and has helped shape me into the nurse I am now. I am so blessed to have a coworker, and mentor, like Sarah Thomas. Parkland is truly lucky to have her, and our patients are blessed to be under her care.