Kea Ellis is an outstanding, confident nurse and an exemplary member of the Emergency Department team. She consistently demonstrates superior knowledge and technical expertise in the delivery of high quality nursing care. Due to her excellent leadership and managerial skills she is often chosen to act as Charge Nurse. In this demanding role she maximizes manpower utilization, and participates in physician team rounds ensuring delivery of high quality health care. She has the innate ability to make the busiest day seen calm and quiet. Her patients and her team members highly appreciate her. She recently received two gold pin awards; the first was submitted by a patient with the highest accolades for her compassionate bedside manner and nursing excellence; the second award was written and submitted by her ED Health Technician subordinates who praised her for her team work, fair leadership style and high productivity.
She is an invaluable asset to her immediate supervisor and consistently demonstrates ownership and pride in the unit. She was an invaluable member of the Emergency Department's Customer Service initiative. In this role, she designed a 34 question patient survey "Striving to Make the A" where patients grade the ED staff on courtesy, skill, appearance, professionalism, patient education, and comfort of the waiting room. The survey results provide useful information used to evaluate and increase customer satisfaction. The monthly survey is handed out to our veterans, data is collected and reported to the monthly EDOC meeting. Not stopping there, Kea created a pamphlet for patients in the ED that are to be admitted. The cards provide the telephone and room number that they are being admitted to as well as the phone number to the ED if they have additional questions.

Kea’s outstanding clinical and theoretical judgment led to her assignment on the Triage Process Redesign Team. As an integral team member, she collaborated with her peers and delivered a written concept for change to the current multi-step Triage process. The overall team initiative, design and creative approach will enhance customer service and decrease Veteran wait times in the Emergency Department.

Kea Ellis is a true representation of nursing excellence in the Emergency Department.