One evening after leaving a normal 12-hour work shift, Marlene was on her way home. When leaving our campus she noticed a car in the middle of the median with the driver's side door open and saw a gentleman slumped over the steering wheel with one leg out of his car. She immediately turned her car around in order to assess the situation and attend to him. The individual was actually a silver alert who had been missing from delay beach for over 48 hours. The elderly gentleman was confused but able to communicate, however he had no cell phone and was not able to recite any family contact information. Marlene acted quickly and notified our ED charge RN and our security team of the current situation.

While awaiting the arrival of Hillsborough county sheriff she discovered the gentleman had recently been to a hospital and found his discharge paperwork in the car with his family's contact information. She immediately contacted them after verification and permission of the elderly man was obtained. She was able to contact his daughter using her own cell phone to explain his present location and notified her that he would be taken to our ER for evaluation. The family member was beyond grateful for her quick thinking and heroic actions on her own personal time.

Marlene is the prefect example of BayCare's Mission to support and provide for our community. This nurse truly exemplifies our value system and demonstrates humanity both in and outside of work on a constant basis. She is truly outstanding!

Note: This is Marlene's 2nd DAISY Award!