In the years that I have seen her practice as a clinical nurse, shift coordinator, and clinical operations manager, she has repeatedly amazed me with her compassion, work ethic, and dedication to her team and patients. I am grateful to have a leader like Jaleigh on our team. There are so many examples of Jaleigh’s incredible leadership and I will do my best to honor her by sharing some.

She is the type of leader who does the right thing for the right reason all the time and the type who is unlikely to celebrate or share her own successes and work. While participating in multidisciplinary rounds and rounding on patients, Jaleigh works to learn what matters most to patients and to make it happen. In the past year, she was the driving force behind facilitating a wedding in our hospital. One of our patients was approaching end-of-life and their family desired the opportunity to hold the wedding before they passed. Jaleigh worked with the family and team members to arrange details for the wedding and to make it the best experience possible for everyone involved.

Jaleigh is always available for her team and dedicates time to connect with them. She has supported numerous team members through difficult circumstances outside of work and provided resources to help them. She celebrates her team's accomplishments, including graduation, and has hired many PCAs as they transition into RN roles. Jaleigh encourages shared governance for the unit and values participation from all team members.

Jaleigh is the type of leader that stays engaged and active on the unit. She responds to bed alarms, rounds with the team, and helps answer call lights and complete tasks as she is able. I have responded to bed alarms so many times to find her already in the room helping the patient with what they need. If an emergency happens on the unit, Jaleigh is one of the first to respond. In a recent code, Jaleigh helped facilitate communication between responding team members and supported the primary nurse in their role during the emergency response. This nurse was incredibly grateful to have Jaleigh’s support and presence through a traumatic event.

In a recent assault on a team member, Jaleigh ensured the team member was okay and encouraged the use of security and a behavior alert to protect the team. She consistently sends the message that her team’s safety is of the utmost importance to her. After the team experiences a traumatic event or has undergone difficult shifts and experiences, she asks for a Code Lavender and encourages team members to attend. Our unit has had multiple patients who have stayed with us for extended time periods, sometimes several months. A few of these patients have had challenging or unique behaviors and care plans. Jaleigh supported her team in developing strategies to care for these patients. She and her team often purchased things for these patients: clothes, candy, food, and haircuts, and provided compassionate care that was above and beyond. When the team experienced compassion fatigue, she collaborated with hospital leadership to rotate the placement of the patient and provide her team with respite. Jaleigh is a true DAISY Nurse Leader.