When you work with someone who just always brings their "A" game, you sometimes take their excellence and compassion for granted. And that is the case with Michelle Root. But she demonstrated extraordinary skills and compassion when a nurse's husband died in a tragic accident. Within hours of the accident Michelle went into motion. Knowing that the nurse's family struggled financially, that the husband was unemployed and there was no life insurance, Michelle developed multiple plans to address the family's needs. She organized donations of meals for the month, assisted the nurse in creating a scholarship fund at a bank, solicited money so that the young boys could continue after-school activities. Most importantly, Michelle was very effective in quickly identifying the family's needs and strategizing ways to meet them. One of the most amazing things that she did was to meet with our physicians. As a result of that meeting, one of the physicians generously donated a year's worth of gymnastic lessons for the boys to help create a sense of normalcy. Another physician offered their spouse's services to help the nurse with financial planning. And everyone donated money! None of this would have occurred without Michelle's leadership. She demonstrated skills and efficiency that would make the Red Cross Disaster relief jealous. But then I realized the skills Michelle displayed are what she does every day at work. As our Charge Nurse, she is constantly vigilant, anticipating who needs help (even before we do), identifying and accessing the best resources for each situation, and doing it all with tremendous efficiency and compassion. Beyond that, Michelle really is the axis connecting all of us together. I cannot think of a more deserving nurse for this honor.