The nurse that is being honored today for the DAISY Award demonstrates a caring attitude for her patients everyday. Her compassion exemplifies the kind of nurse that our patients, their families and our staff recognize as outstanding. She significantly makes a difference in patients' lives with her kind acts as she cares for them. After she has received her assignment, she focuses on meeting the needs of her patients and their families. She holds herself to the highest standards while demonstrating her impeccable assessment skills and critical thinking. She comes to work energized and has a positive attitude, no matter what the assignment is. Our first Healdsburg District Hospital DAISY Award goes to Jaesoon Yi.

A letter from a coworker, Suzanne Lazare-Ellis, RN, CCRN, MSN:

I have been a nurse for 32 years and I have never in my career observed a more caring, compassionate nurse than Jaesoon, whose heart is committed to her patients. She routinely checks on her patients every hour, she attends to the most demanding patients with grace and does it with a smile and calming voice. She never makes her patients feel they are a bother. She goes the extra mile to make sure they are warm and that they feel safe and cared for. I have observed her soothing voice relax patients and make them smile, including a patient that was beligerant and agitated. One of her patients recently was going through severe withdrawals. This patient was very verbally abusive towards her, but she continued to care for him, doing everything she could think of to help him through his withdrawals. Later, he apologized for his abusive behavior and said, "she is an angel and a gift from heaven and I do not deserve her as a nurse."

Jaesoon leaves an impression on even the most sensitive patients, she listens with her heart, she sits with her patients and their family members just listening to their concerns, and reassures them that we will help them through their fears and concerns. She never appears rushed or too busy to give them her valuable time. Patients come back to see her after they have been discharged home, just to say "thank you for caring for me." Families are constantly thanking her for her excellent care of their loved ones. She has compassion, is committed and adheres to the highest evidence based standards.

Letter from coworker Kate Ingram, RN:

Jaesoon received a patient whose left eyelid and perorbital area were both extremely swollen. She assessed her patient and immediately noticed something abnormal with the patient's swollen eye. As she continued her assessment, Jaesoon noticed the patient did not have vision in that eye and the pupil was fixed. The patient (who was alert and oriented), did not know he did not have vision in his left eye because it was swollen shut. This was a change for the patient. Jaesoon immediately called the physician who was equally concerned. As the hour progressed, the physician called to have the patient transported to another facility for more extensive testing. It turned out that the patient's eye had to be removed. The family came back to the unit afterwards to thank Jaesoon for picking up on the changes that led to his quick transfer. The family stated, "If it wasn't for you, Jaesoon, this could have been a worse situation."

I have heard many families come over to Jaesoon thanking her for her excellent care. Jaesoon makes you feel safe, comfortable and confident that all your needs will be met. Her patients are clean, turned religiously every two hours, and her environment is organized. I would want any of my family members to be cared for by Jaesoon who has compassion, and is committed and adheres to the highest evidence based standards.

A letter from Conni Whitemore, Director of Inpatient Services, to Jaesoon Yi:

When you came into my office to interview for a job, I was not sure how the interview would go because of the language barrier. As I sat in the room with you, I looked beyond the words and we communicated from the heart. I felt your compassion and I saw through your eyes that you held yourself to the highest standards; you were willing to come into my world with this language barrier without fear. Not many nurses are brave enough for that level of challenge. I brought our staff in to have a peer interview with you; support for you was unanimous, and we all loved you from that day forward. I would like to compare you to one of my favorite women in history, Florence Nightingale.

"Florence Nightingale was visible as she walked the wards of the barrack hospital in Scutari, during the Crimean Campaign. She became known as the Lady with the Lamp at that time. The soldiers remembered her long after the battles were over and to this day she remains a heroine to them as well as being a heroine to our profession."

Although it's a short walk, and you have one or two patients in our ICU, compared to Florence Nightingale's 1500, you, Jaesoon, represent this wonderful woman who was proud, confident and had courage. Your respect for your patients and their families is commendable, your pride and work ethic excels beyond excellence. Thank you for choosing Healdsburg District Hospital as your workplace, thank you for being a role model for all of us who work with you, and thank you for being a true leader."