My name is Karen Ellison and I am the Clinical Resource Leader on the Med-Surg unit N3. I have the pleasure of working with Julie who works 7p-7a often. Julie is a very compassionate and caring nurse and I have witnessed on more than one occasion where she has gone above and beyond.
We had a patient on N3 that had been here for a long time, over 120 days in a private room, and Julie cared for her several times. One evening as Julie took care of this patient she noticed when talking with her that the patient was very down and sad. The patient had expressed that she was sad that she was still in the hospital after all this time and not home with her husband. It was October and the next night that Julie worked, she brought in leaves and decorated the patient's room. The patient and husband were so emotionally overjoyed at Julie's kind gesture and shared with her how significant the leaves were. The patient advised that she met her husband over 30 plus years ago while raking up leaves! They were so appreciative of Julie's care and kindness that when the patient was finally being discharged, they brought in a beautiful cake from a bakery to thank her.
Another example was when Julie was taking care of an elderly patient who was having difficulty with her respiratory status and had to be placed on a non-rebreather mask. The patient was very nervous and scared and did not want to be left alone in the room. The patient's daughter was coming into the hospital at around 8 am, so after Julie gave report on her patients, she punched out and sat holding this patient's hand until her daughter arrived at around 8:15 am.
These are just 2 examples out of many where Julie's care and compassion are displayed for her patients. She is also a member of the team that will go around assisting her co-workers when her work is completed and others are busy. I feel that Julie is so deserving of The DAISY award and what it symbolizes.