9 Main would like to nominate Dennise Maldonado for the elaborate and personalized care she provided for a patient we had for the last few weeks. This patient was from Mexico and had no family or any way to get in touch with his family or friends. Dennise went above and beyond by attempting to get in touch with his family in Mexico. She brought him clothes from home when the patient didn’t have any. Dennise was the only one who was able to connect with him on a personal level. She consistently came in on her days off. The patient stated, “It made me feel more human.” When the patient was finally discharged to hospice, Dennise brought clothes from home for him to leave with. She is also collecting donations from military families to help feed the patient, as the hospice house only provides breakfast and dinner.

To all the staff on 9 Main, this is what nursing means. The three areas of profound impact, as defined by the DAISY Foundation, are nursing engagement, healthy work environment, and patient and family experience. To us, Dennise has hit every bullet. As a new graduate RN, she has ignited extraordinary compassionate care towards this patient. She has reminded each of us why we became nurses.