LeAnn Phelps, Director of Nursing -WISH embodies the core values of Parkland and our new Code of Conduct. She has repeatedly shown grace under fire when the WISH building flooded and she had to relocate clinics to L&D areas and manage the process. Despite her short tenure at Parkland, she smoothly and safely took control of the situation and made sure all patients were safe, comforted, and had a plan to receive care as needed. I was impressed with her acumen and strong interpersonal skills in a time of crisis on a Friday, one of their busiest days.
I also saw LeAnn shine when we began discussing the need to reduce the LWBS patients in OGES as well as the main ED. She and her team went about changing processes and decreased the LWBS from 7.5% to less than 1.5% by changing their processes. She is always looking for ways to improve patient care and goes about it quietly and effectively. She saw a chance to improve care and made it happen which has benefited our OGES patients.
I have seen Le Ann in her meetings with her clinic staff and the APPs. She not only works to build a team but also to make it more fun and inspirational. She has been faced with many challenges since she arrived including extensively long clinic days, but has managed to bring a calm and steady presence and always with an eye on improvement. Though LeAnn has not been here long, her presence is felt daily.
LeAnn leads by example and knows when she needs to step in and help to guide or coach and mentor. I ran into LeAnn one Saturday on the elevator and she had a stack of books with her she was carrying in a box. I asked her what she was doing on a Saturday here with the books. She said, "I like to find inspirational leadership books and I found these on sale and bought them for my leaders. We are going to read them together and learn." She paid for these books out of her own personal money and the way she said it I could tell this was just part of her being a leader. It was natural and she would never have told anyone had I not seen her that Saturday. She is humble and honorable.
LeAnn actively participates on nursing committees including shared governance and offers sound counsel as needed. She is a professional role model for others and I see her mentoring those around her and beyond.
I could expound more on LeAnn, but the examples shown here tell the story. Once when she asked me to come to one of the clinic meetings I went and had the chance to hear from her team their great ideas as well as their needs. I was very impressed with how she and her leaders handled the meeting and their engagement. She and her team sent me a small food gift to thank me and this is an example of the thoughtfulness I see her and her team demonstrate.
For someone not new to leadership but new to Parkland, LeAnn's presence is felt and appreciated. I never leave a contact or conversation with her without feeling how much she cares and gives to make WISH and nursing at Parkland great. LeAnn deserves the DAISY Nurse Leader award because she exemplifies positive traits and role modeling in an era of rapid change and challenges.