A patient said he had various nurses during his stay here, but Sara Howard stood out because of her compassion and patience. He nominated her for the DAISY award. She works the night shift and this patient was having an extremely difficult time during his stay. He felt like he could not breathe and had a lot of anxiety about his condition. Sara went above and beyond to make him comfortable. She stayed with him to help calm him down. She taught him how to relax his breathing and educated him on things he could do to help himself improve and relax. Nurses around this situation also noted that Sara spent extra time with this patient because she knew if he continued down this direction he would soon start to decline and potentially end up in high level of care or even intubated. She was able to put tasks aside and concentrate on calming his anxiety so he could concentrate on his breathing. Since the patient was able to calm his breathing and let the device work to the best of its ability the patient did not need to transfer to a higher level of care or be intubated.

She truly used nursing techniques to make a difference in his care. The patient also stated, "Sara is a true asset to the team." He wanted to thank her for all she did and for always going above and beyond for him. Without nurses like Sara at the bedside patients would feel more alone and more anxious. Sara’s knowledge and compassion avoided a bad outcome. Thank you Sara for taking the time to tune in to the needs of the patient and not focus on the tasks at hand.