Susan demonstrates compassionate, skilled nursing care to every Hospice patient she serves. The skills she shares range from complicated nursing tasks to holding someone's hand and listening. She listens with an open mind and often thinks outside the box when trying to assist a patient with finding solutions to problems. Susan adapts to her patient and their individual needs. She respects their point of view on how they want to reach their own end of life goals. Recently she served a patient that was left alone much of the time and did not receive a high level of care from her family members although they loved her very much. Susan listened to what her patient had to say regarding the situation and accepted that this was the patient's choice. The patient was willing to sacrifice the level of care she received so that she could live at home with her family and this was her most important goal. Susan rallied all the resources that Hospice could provide and was able to keep this patient at home until her death.

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I have the opportunity to observe Susan's' tireless commitment to the highest standards of compassionate care and professionalism, both with her patients and among her colleagues. She consistently establishes rapport and trust with clients and their families, including those who've often had long held misconceptions about hospice care. Although Susan's outstanding contributions are clearly driven by the extraordinary foundation of her heart felt compassionate care, her personal commitment to professional growth and clinical skill acquisition runs a close second. Susan is always up for a new challenge, whether it is learning a new IV pump or drain type that she is unfamiliar with or studying the pathophysiology behind a disease process. On multiple occasions I have witnessed this self-directed search for knowledge benefit CarePartner's patients and their families with more informed and effective care.

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Susan is the Johnny Appleseed of compassionate care. Everywhere she goes, she leaves a ripple effect of kindness and generosity. Patients and families instinctively trust her. Patients and families consistently tell me they are grateful because she "treats me like a person". Many describe her as the "Energizer Bunny" because she is tireless in the execution of her excellent clinical and critical thinking skills. She is courageous in her professionalism, both in seeking out and learning best practices and respectfully working through difficult patient/family dynamics. In her work as a case manager, she provides a cohesive dynamic that rallies the patient's care team around focusing on meeting the patient and family goals. Her honest and direct communication style results in trust flourishing among her co-workers. I am profoundly grateful and honored to work with her.