There are many reasons I would like to nominate Cait for the DAISY. I'll lead with the most recent example; I felt Caitlin's most recent experience at SUNY could not go unrecognized at the least! In this case, the patient that Caitlin was with at SUNY did not have family, which led to why Caitlin was such an instrumental part in the success of the patient’s health. Recently Caitlin was working on the ICU Neuro unit at SUNY. There was a patient who was in their 40s and was admitted. This patient had no family with him nor at home to check on him or to advocate for him and his care within the hospital. He was from a group home with little to no outside support. On the 2nd day of the patient's stay, Caitlin came into his room, and he seemed like a totally different person. When Caitlin originally addressed the patient, he was talking and moving, it seemed that recovery wasn’t a question. He passed speech tests and was on the mend.

However, on day 2, Caitlin comes to the patient’s room, and he is no longer talking and cannot swallow. His left side was weaker than the right, in short, the Attendings were stating he may end up in a vegetative state. Caitlin, not being very confident in Neuro, was relying on the attendings, the SWAT team, and the charge RNs. However, she did have questions and continued to ask. Why, if yesterday, he is walking and talking, then today, he can’t even speak, are we not assessing him or doing intervention? Why aren’t we scanning for neuro at all and just taking this as the answer? Caitlin was relentless since the patient had no one there to advocate for him. She continued to ask questions not only to care for the patient but to also understand. While she continued to face the reality, this patient was alone she had to be there for him. She put on a playlist called “Big Booty Mix” and had him laughing. She even gave him an entire spa day to lift his spirits. With all of that she still was not at ease and kept pushing. She came in the next day and at 6 pm asked the Attending once more, "would you care to come check one more time, I feel we’re missing something?" The Attending then states, “He does look different”. So, they scanned for Neuro and in turn they put in an A-line and intubated the patient. While even investigating what types of strokes the patient was having.

With Caitlin's diligence, care, and eagerness to understand and help, this patient received care beyond imaginable. Without Caitlin there, this patient could have been in a vegetative state or worse. The Charge RN on this unit approached Caitlin with the utmost respect and said, “This is because of you, thank you!” Caitlin went above and beyond in this situation. To be uncomfortable with the knowledge she had on the subject, to ignore that and care more for the patient to continue to question other decisions is admirable. The list of stories for Caitlin could go on; I am honored to say I have worked with her for 3 years.