Compassion is demonstrated differently by different people, and while we most commonly associate compassion with tenderness or sweetness, one of the most important ways nurses show kind-heartedness and concern for patients is through patient advocacy and problem-solving. I am nominating Yvonne Fankhanel for the DAISY Award because of her tenacious patient advocacy and patient-centered care.  
 
I'd like to share some examples of how Yvonne embodies compassionate care through patient advocacy: Yvonne was on an adult care unit in the Vintage Hospital consulting on a patient. She noticed a distressed-looking visitor standing in the doorway to a patient's room. Yvonne approached the visitor and asked if she could help. The visitor explained that she was gravely concerned about her mother's safety as she was blind and had no call light at the bedside. The daughter of the patient was upset because she needed to leave the unit but didn't want to leave her mother without a way to communicate her needs. Yvonne asked unit staff to find a call light for the patient and promised the family member she would stay with her mother until a call light could be installed. The family member was able to leave, knowing her mother was cared for. When staff were unable to find a call light, Yvonne continued to pursue the issue, tracking down and speaking to multiple unit leaders, until a call light was installed in the room.  
 
Another example of Yvonne's advocacy and patient-centered care involves a patient with a complex abdominal fistula. Because of the complexity of the patient's condition that led to fistula formation, physician teams would stabilize her medical needs (electrolytes and hydration, blood pressure) but did not pursue surgical interventions for her impossible stoma. The patient was in constant terrible pain because of the wound surrounding her fistula and was seriously demoralized because of the intractability and seeming hopelessness of her situation. The patient couldn't eat and was isolated at home. After multiple failed creative ostomy care interventions from our team, Yvonne talked to one of the ACS surgeons and passionately pleaded the case for a stoma revision for the patient. Because of the trust the surgeon has in Yvonne from other similar cases, the surgeon revised the stoma and the WOC team was able to more successfully manage the fistula. Of course, nothing is perfect, and the patient continued to have stoma-related issues and hospitalizations. Each time the patient was re-admitted, Yvonne worked tirelessly to evaluate and trial multiple ostomy appliances, calling several vendors and requesting product samples. As the patient's mental health wavered, Yvonne was compassionate and relentlessly optimistic in her approach, allowing the patient and her daughter to draw strength and confidence both from the success of the pouching intervention and from Yvonne's optimism and tenacity. Sometimes the best medicine for chronic illness is knowing someone is fighting your corner and hopeful for success. The patient continues to show improvement, has not been admitted recently, and had a more hopeful and optimistic outlook upon her last discharge.