Susan Sidoti is usually the person who nominates others for this award as she is constantly praising and recognizing others for their good work. However, this time I would like to nominate Susan for her good work!

Susan works on the Couplet Care Unit on the Maternal Child Health Unit. Not only is she a Charge Nurse but she is also the Chairperson for our Unit Based Shared Leadership Peer Relation Council. As Chairperson she is constantly organizing events not only for our staff ( Angel of the Month) but also for the community. Most recently she helped organize a drive for our troops overseas. This drive was so successful that we even had local news coverage. The year before that Susan helped organize a fundraiser for homeless women and children. The year before that it was a food drive. The list could go on and on!

One day I heard Susan talking with a patient on the phone who had called after being discharged. The patient was struggling with post-partum depression and needed information on available resources in the community. Susan not only provided her with the name of the Post Partum Support Group but also called the Program Coordinator at home as well as our own Social Work department. This was done to help ensure the patient received immediate help and to also coordinate her care as she was not in the state of mind to do it for herself. If Susan had not made the extra effort to connect with these two support systems, I do not know what would have happened to the patient.

I do not provide patient care but I do read all the kudos letters that come in from our patients on the Maternal Child Unit and we have received numerous letters who mention Susan. It is not unusual for patients to refer to Susan as their “favorite” or “amazing” or “fabulous”. We feel the same!