My Dad was unexpectedly hospitalized and found to have multiple major blockages in his heart that immediately required a triple bypass. My Mom and I were by his side from the start. My Mom is the kind of person who needs constant, detailed updates and gets stir-crazy just waiting. Once he was settled into SCU 4 after surgery, Shauna was the first face that we saw and she was exactly the one we needed most. Shauna's greeting instantly felt genuine and warm. I don't know how the others are or what the standard of practice is on that unit, but I felt that Shauna went above and beyond in taking her time to give us a complete explanation of what my Dad went through and what was going to happen to him on the unit. She was top-notch in providing an estimated timeline and clear goals that needed to be met before he would be able to proceed to the next steps of care or transition to the R-floor.

We watched like overprotective hawks as Shauna cared for my Dad, checking pumps, vitals, monitors, etc. but we didn't need to because she was as loving, gentle, and laser-focused as his own family would've been going so far as to gently lay her hand on my Dad's forehead to softly reassure him that he was all right despite still being sedated. Shauna even worked out a plan to call my Mom later in the night to let her know how my Dad did with removing his heart pump. Shauna was professional, knowledgeable, and efficient, yet also friendly, caring, thoughtful, and sweet. The world needs more people, not just RNs, like Shauna.

Despite being just one person in a very large network of care providers for my Dad, Shauna is the one who stood out the most, enough to make me want to write down her name and nominate her for this award. We were blown away by how incredible she is not just to patients, but also to their families. Thank you, Shauna, we loved you!