I was recently discharged from Lankenau following surgery. The nurse who spent the greatest amount of time caring for me was Erica Grier, so I had a considerable amount of time receiving and observing the quality of care that she provided to me. While I was very pleased with the post operative care provided to me by a wide variety of MLH staff members, I feel compelled to nominate Erica for a DAISY Award, in part because her care exemplified the primary criteria for this recognition: outstanding service, and extraordinary compassion and nursing care. I am making this recommendation in the context of multiple prior surgeries at Lankenau over more than a decade, so I have a very informed basis for comparing nursing care. 

From my first contact with Erica, I sensed that she was a very special RN. It quickly became clear to me that she was bright, highly experienced, and capable. In an always calm, professional, and empathetic manner, she made me feel that she would make sure that I successfully navigated all of the challenges that I would face in my recuperation and that she would be at my side to ensure that all went well. As a person who asks a lot of questions, she always had informed responses. I believe when a healthcare provider has that level of knowledge when caring for a patient, it really helps provide an enormous level of confidence that the recuperation process will go well. Beyond that, a care provider must also be able to communicate that information clearly so that the patient can understand it effectively, and Erica was skilled in doing so.

There were several aspects of my recovery process that I viewed as unpleasant and/or concerned me. Erica sensed what they were, and made adjustments to her approach to make me feel more comfortable and relaxed about them. At the same time, she consistently asked if there was anything I needed or if she could do anything to help make me feel more comfortable. While I know that she was always assigned to several other patients at the same time that she was assigned to me, she would regularly pop her head inside my door for a moment to inquire about how I was feeling/doing. When I was unclear about the rationale for something being directed by someone above her in the chain of command (a new test/medication/procedure/etc.), she provided her best explanation. But if that did not satisfy me, she did not hesitate to honor my request to share that concern with the person who originally made the decision. Accordingly, I grew to trust her, and I am confident that the best possible decisions were being made on my behalf. As a “team” guy, this meant a lot to me. “Collaboration” was the mantra for success in my profession. Erica regularly went beyond the call of duty in smaller ways to help me get through a very difficult week. One example of this was when she learned that the folks from the Musicians on Call program sponsored by WXPN were on my floor, she went out of her way to assure that they visited my room that provided a welcome and needed distraction from the challenges of my recovery.

So as I begin to bring this recommendation to a close, I hope that what readers are concluding is that I viewed Erica as a full service caring professional who consistently went above and beyond the call of duty, and by doing so caused me to approach each challenge with greater confidence and optimism. While Erica and I are different in many respects, those differences never prevented us from developing a very strong patient/care provider bond. MLH should feel very fortunate to have Erica on their team. I believe that she will continue to distinguish herself as an RN, or in any health care position that she may seek.