At Torrance Memorial, there are many talented and dedicated leaders who deserve recognition. It is an honor every day to work with them all. In 2019, a special leader shined through adversity and tragedy as a beacon of integrity and strength. It is with great pleasure to nominate Sean Yokoe as a DAISY Nurse Leader. This is his story as a responsible dedicated leader when a tragic event occurred on his unit in early January of 2019 he immediately went to the hospital. He provided support to the family and staff, gathered information, and communicated effectively to the administration. This leader accepted his responsibility with a sincere commitment to help the family and staff heal by making the system better to prevent this from occurring in the future. He bravely disclosed to the family the results of our investigation and how we could have done things differently and listened to them share what was important to them and how they felt. Taking this feedback and putting it into action our house-wide fall policy reflects the importance of family notification after a fall. Over 10 months, he maintained monthly communication with the family and in October hosted a tree dedication with the family, clinical staff/leadership who cared for the patient in honor of a very special man who touched so many in his life. His strong and compassionate leadership moved everyone forward to closure and healing.

As a leader you feel tested at times and just as the above patient safety event was coming to closure. We experienced the tragic death of an employee during the end of his shift. Upon receiving notification one of his nurses passed, this leader immediately came to the hospital and spend hours supporting staff and ultimately sharing the devastating news with the wife of the employee. He and the unit manager unit came back the next day to provide additional support. Traveling out of state to attend the funeral as a hospital representative and amazing kind compassionate leader. In the weeks to follow he coordinated a lovely memorial in the chapel and healing garden attended by the family, staff, and leaders and the dedication of a plaque in the clean core of the unit.

This courageous, strong leader creates an environment of family, teamwork, trust, and respect. He leads through tough times with determination to do the right thing and models this for all. As I witnessed his growth through adversity and challenges it is an honor to be part of his journey.