Congratulations to our March 2024 DAISY Award recipient, Diana Marquez, BSN, RN, Staff Nurse, MSS Division, 2BT. She was nominated by a colleague, who wrote:

I am a psychiatry resident at UIHC. Earlier this year, I was called as a consultant by the primary neurology team to assess a Spanish-speaking patient on your unit. It was reported to me that the patient was agitated and wanted to be discharged despite the fact that it was unsafe due to the extreme weather. When I got to the unit, one of the nurses, Diana Marquez, was immediately present and able to give her assessment of the patient. She then interpreted for the patient and myself since I am not fluent in Spanish.

With Diana's help, we were able to explain why the patient needed to stay in the hospital, and he was able to express his concerns to us. Together, the three of us came to a mutual understanding with a plan that was in the patient's interest while prioritizing his safety. This plan was then communicated to the primary team, who was able to arrange the discharge that day. I just wanted to reach out to you about the situation because I feel that Diana did an exceptional job as an interpreter and a nurse caring for her patient. Despite interpreting services not being part of her job, she recognized that the patient had not responded well to Cyracom interpreters previously and had refused to speak with them at certain times. Without her presence and being able to remain calm and level-headed with the patient, I do not believe that the situation would have been resolved on such a good note. I'm not entirely sure if your unit does any shout-outs or can nominate people for any award, but I would recommend Diana to be recognized for her actions with this encounter. Thanks.