My grandmother, who is 90, was on IMC and had an order for a trans-esophageal echo. Though she was typically alert and oriented she had a change in mental status and was very sleepy. She would only open her eyes briefly and go back to sleep. Kelly was concerned that she did not understand what she was being consented for and immediately notified the family. Seeing how sleepy she was and given she had already failed a swallow evaluation we decided to hold off on the invasive test.

I think if Kelly had not stepped in they would have taken a "head nod" as a verbal consent and she would have had an invasive procedure that was not immediately important. I just believe Kelly was a great patient advocate and allowed our family the opportunity to ensure my grandmother's wishes for end of life care were followed. She is very deserving of the DAISY Award.