Commending Ms. Christine Denney, as the lead nurse assigned to the fourth floor of Banner Gateway, is the least that I can do to highlight the quality of care and service provided. Four of the six days that I was in the hospital, I had Christine as my nurse. I cannot speak highly enough of the continuity of care I had while in this hospital. Christine is an experienced nurse who arrives early for her shift, and often stays beyond her shift to be certain that medication was distributed.

My purpose for being in the hospital was to complete the surgical reversal of a previous surgery that I had at Banner Gateway four months ago. While the surgeon indicated that the procedure went well, he also emphasized that the two incisions had to be cared for properly, as they were large wounds. One evening, about an hour before Christine was scheduled for shift change, she was checking my wounds and mentioned to me that there was a distension of the larger wound that she was concerned with. While I rested and thought about the swelling, Christine contacted the surgeon, and he ordered a CAT Scan which was completed before 10pm. Around 4am the following morning, a person with a remote x-ray machine came to my room and took two more images of the larger wound. The surgeon was comfortable with what he saw, but we were thankful for Christine’s diligence. From the perspective of a patient, Christine could have easily gone home, but based on her knowledge and experience she followed through and provided the necessary closure to a very real concern.

In addition to her other responsibilities, Christine helped me manage my Parkinson’s medications. Christine demonstrated excellent leadership and guidance for the other classified personnel among the nursing staff that worked directly with me. Christine even provided guidance to a young phlebotomist that was having trouble finding a vein. Banner is fortunate to have nurses as qualified and personally invested in their patients’ well-being.