I am writing to you this morning about Melanie Russ. As I sit in my office working, I can hear Melanie rounding on each of my nurses and asking them if there is anything they need. She is offering to draw labs, place IVs and do medication passes (when she is not busy doing her own work of course). This is invaluable to me as a leader. She never gives anyone a hard time or makes them feel bad about us asking for her assistance...and trust me, we ask often.
Melanie is always a team player and always willing to lend a helping hand. She cares about our teams and about our patients. I constantly find Melanie going above and beyond. She is a great teacher for our less experienced nurses and also an excellent patient advocate. Melanie will notice subtle things about a patient and point them out to the clinician in a constructive and helpful way. I don't think we take enough time to stop and send emails like this. We are thankful to have her as a resource for our unit and I personally feel we are lucky to have her as an employee at NWCH.