Stefanie Dinoia
February 2021
Stefanie
Dinoia
,
BSN, RN
ICU
Baystate Medical Center
Stefanie is an amazing caregiver, both at work and in her life.
Stefanie Dinoia is a longtime ICU Nurse at Baystate Medical Center. She lives next door to my parents in Springfield, which is important to why I am writing this DAISY Award for her. My parents are always appreciative of Stefanie as a neighbor, but as this pandemic raged on and they would talk from their driveways, they really understood the dedication and hard work that it took to take care of COVID-19 patients.
I know that this past year has been very challenging for all Baystate Health Team Members and the ICU staff in particular. Stefanie has kept an eye on my 74-year-old parents since COVID started and checked in with them regularly on how they are doing. Both parents have been Baystate patients in the past year. Both are at high risk for COVID.
Just after New Year's, my parents were both diagnosed with COVID-19. They were able to recover at home, however, my father had respiratory issues that were really affecting him, and he had to go to the emergency room because of low oxygen levels. Stefanie heard about this and was incredibly supportive of them. She checked on them by phone regularly, offering advice to them over the phone (or sometimes in the driveway), asking about their vitals (that they were now experts at taking themselves), she even ran to the store one night after work to get them a new thermometer when the infrared thermometer they were using was clearly not working and my father had a high temperature; she made sure that they understood the importance of continuous checking of their temperatures and oxygen levels. Also, the importance of reaching out to their doctors if things changed. It was like she was giving bedside care from her house to their house across the driveways.
She is a true DAISY Nurse and this shows Stefanie's dedication to the health of the people in our community, even when she is off the clock of her long work shift in the ICU. In these times, it is so challenging when we cannot be together as much as we would like, and that as a daughter I can talk on the phone to my parents, but not see them face to face on a regular basis. Knowing that someone was right next door keeping an eye (even from afar) on my parents was a gift. I am so grateful for her care, compassion, and her knowledge of this virus that helped my family get through this tough time. She is an amazing caregiver, both at work and in her life.
I know that this past year has been very challenging for all Baystate Health Team Members and the ICU staff in particular. Stefanie has kept an eye on my 74-year-old parents since COVID started and checked in with them regularly on how they are doing. Both parents have been Baystate patients in the past year. Both are at high risk for COVID.
Just after New Year's, my parents were both diagnosed with COVID-19. They were able to recover at home, however, my father had respiratory issues that were really affecting him, and he had to go to the emergency room because of low oxygen levels. Stefanie heard about this and was incredibly supportive of them. She checked on them by phone regularly, offering advice to them over the phone (or sometimes in the driveway), asking about their vitals (that they were now experts at taking themselves), she even ran to the store one night after work to get them a new thermometer when the infrared thermometer they were using was clearly not working and my father had a high temperature; she made sure that they understood the importance of continuous checking of their temperatures and oxygen levels. Also, the importance of reaching out to their doctors if things changed. It was like she was giving bedside care from her house to their house across the driveways.
She is a true DAISY Nurse and this shows Stefanie's dedication to the health of the people in our community, even when she is off the clock of her long work shift in the ICU. In these times, it is so challenging when we cannot be together as much as we would like, and that as a daughter I can talk on the phone to my parents, but not see them face to face on a regular basis. Knowing that someone was right next door keeping an eye (even from afar) on my parents was a gift. I am so grateful for her care, compassion, and her knowledge of this virus that helped my family get through this tough time. She is an amazing caregiver, both at work and in her life.