Firstly... not sure we have the words to convey how just how much Patti Beseth meant to us in our son's journey in the NICU. In our roughly 1800+ hours bedside (16-24 hours a day for 112 days) we had the opportunity to meet over 50 fantastic nurses; however, we had the opportunity to work closely with Patti as a primary and we find her beyond deserving of this award. We hope you will agree.

Role Model: Not only is Patti a very skilled and talented nurse from a purely technical standpoint; she also embodies the ideal of the caring, compassionate caregiver while modeling these behaviors in a very professional manner. The one area I would call out is that Patti was fastidious in the documentation and provided a very thorough debrief/transition to the next nurse coming on shift.

Advocate: As a front-line provider; Patti was critical in advocating for the care of our fragile and delicate baby boy. From providing her input to the rounding teams on pain medication dosages, feedback on the visible efficacy (or lack of) of diuretics, reactions to other medications, and being able to provide an overall assessment of ‘is this normal or not for our son’ I felt was critical in helping to ensure he was receiving the best care possible. I tended to view Patti as our Field General that would supplement data with context and ensure everyone on the team had the information needed to help everyone make the best care decisions possible.

Communicator: The two things that really stood out with Patti are that she educates, and she listens; this may seem like a very small thing, however for a terrified parent worried every second of the day for their baby and having to trust their newborns care to complete strangers…there is maybe nothing more important. Many times we came across providers who were more interested in getting their point across than actually listening to and responding to our concerns. Patti would listen; then thoughtfully respond and oftentimes EDUCATE us so that we could better understand and make decisions. Patti wasn’t afraid to credibly challenge our thinking when she felt we were not seeing the whole picture; however, she did so not by ‘telling us’ but by walking us through how she thought about it so that we fully understood all of the facets involved. She was also never afraid to elevate questions or situations and bring to NPs or Neonatologists.

Empathetic and Heartfelt: Patti is a very special nurse. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words... and I have a picture of Patti giving my wife a hug after getting some challenging news and this photo alone speaks volumes about who Patti is as a caregiver. I choke up each time I look at that picture. We also have some fun ‘special event’ photos that Patti helped to orchestrate; like a ‘graduation party’ when moving from small baby to the general NICU population or the many fun cards made with footprints that decorated the room’s walls. Patti made sure our journey wasn’t always about tests and data and treatments; it was also about celebrating the milestones and finding joy in the small victories … and of course, taking care of ourselves in addition to our son. In closing, we believe Patti is a true DAISY Nurse.