I have nominated only a few people throughout my career as a nurse for the DAISY Award, as I believe that is not for being great day by day, but for those moments where we change someone’s whole life. In this case, the family will never forget the care provided by Courtney. This nurse, Courtney Thompson, daily embodies the ethos of what it means to be a nurse. She had been with my unit for a short time, however, in that time, she has proven her skill and prowess as a nurse everytime she walks on the unit. Her compassion for her patients and her patience with them as well—is obvious. In my daily rounds, her patients regularly rave about her care and skill. I am submitting this for one of those really hard days to be a nurse.

We recently had an unusual type of hospice patient, the literal one in a million. This patient was a long-term LVAD patient who was in the hospital more than she was at home and was constantly fighting infections and pain management issues. She chose to stop treatment and essentially decide when to shut off the LVAD. Courtney had been assigned to this patient at the beginning of her week and as fate would have it, she had her on this day. This is where Courtney really displayed her mettle. We spoke before the shift began, and I offered to have another nurse assigned if this would be too difficult for her as she had built a strong bond with the patient and her family. The patient wanted her there and Courtney intended to comply with this wish no matter how she felt about it.

As anyone can imagine, a planned death of an alert and oriented patient is not something we see often. The stress in the room and on the floor was palpable all week and especially so on that day. We had some difficult interactions with some of the family but were able to calm them and relieve some of the stress. Courtney displayed the intestinal fortitude of a 30-year nurse. She had been a nurse for four years and still continued to exhibit complete professionalism throughout the entire process. She embodied teamwork with me, the entire hospice team, and even the family. We lost multiple IVs, had to get meds rushed from the pharmacy, and still managed to keep the family at ease and the patient as comfortable as possible. She managed to handle this immense load, and was able to continue to make time to check on each family member the entire time, as well as, take care of her other patients.

I was called the following day by one of the patient's brothers, who was adamant that Courtney be considered for this, as a hospice nurse himself, he stated that he has never witnessed the level of caring, compassion, and teamwork in such a difficult situation. She not only touched the patient’s life in a positive manner but she touched the entire family’s lives in this difficult time. Courtney always models Baptist Health values, but that day, she was a shining star.