It is a team honor to recognize Karla Carbery as a DAISY Nurse Leader. Karla has worked at BayCare for over 30 years and currently 12 years as the manager at Morton Plant Emergency Department. Karla has always been a role model as a leader. In her years as the manager at MPER Karla has consistently proven to be fair, dependable, loyal, respected, capable and dedicated and compassionate. Her level of dedication to Morton Plant Emergency Department is undeniable. As our manager, Karla starts her day on the unit in the early am to assure she is accessible to the off going shift. She spends time on the floor making sure each team member knows she is available to share thoughts/comments and always lends a hand when needed. She greets the on-coming shift and leads pre-shift report making sure her team is up to date with the unit information. She is always current with her email and responds promptly to any request. She attends various meetings throughout her day and brings back any pertinent information needing to be discussed, shared or implemented with her management team. She is always open to any feedback or ideas from her ER team and makes sure recognition is given for the feedback. Karla adapts well to the constant demands and changes in the health care world. As she departs from her long and early start day, she makes sure to reach out to all as she leaves. Karla is never more than a phone call away when needed and always answers quickly and ready to solve a problem or listen to a concern. Karla is truly dedicated to the ER and her team members. She has the hardest job in the hospital and has done it well for 12 years.
We are in awe of how well she does her job daily with the same level of dedication throughout the years. She is the fairest person we have ever met and as a leader, this is a great quality to possess. She always makes time to hear each person's point of view before handling an issue. Recently, Karla had to add extra responsibility to her already full list of daily manager responsibilities by having to take over the supplies when we suddenly had a supply team member issue. Supplies is a full-time job that Karla took over and mastered by the time the replacement was hired and trained. She handled the sudden supply issue with grace and ease. We have many examples of how Karla is a great leader, but her performance during Hurricane Irma is unmatched. Karla was one of the first managers to arrive with her hurricane supplies and a blow-up mattress. Our ER experienced overwhelming volume before, during and after Irma, and Karla was there through it all. Her dedicated leadership was what helped us stay afloat during one of the most stressful times we have ever been through. She was always available and present during that time. She was constantly checking on team members to make sure everyone was in good spirits and able to perform our jobs. She gave constant positive recognition during the storm to keep us calm, motivated and focused. After the storm, when our volume truly hit an all-time high, Karla was still in the ER keeping our standards high and our morale higher. Karla made sure to get feedback after the storm from team members regarding how we could make improvements to our hurricane/disaster plans in the future. She made sure all suggestions were heard and then formed an improved disaster team straight from the suggestions. Hurricane Irma was no challenge for Karla!
We have experienced a lot over the years and Karla has proven to be a true leader through all the ups and downs. We've shared laughter, tears, frustration, and joy. We have had our share of heartbreaks from team members passing to tough ER cases and Karla has always had her door open and ready to lessen the burden. She has been the first to offer congratulations to new children, life events, graduations, or any accomplishments we achieve. She is our greatest champion. Karla is the epitome of a great leader.