It is my honor and privilege to nominate Kayleigh Chrisawn for this award! I cannot say enough good things about Kayleigh. Although she has only been in her educator role for several months, she continues to impact the entirety of Blue Ridge Regional. HCA's Mission Statement is "Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life." Kayleigh exemplifies this statement in all aspects, not only for our patients but also for all hospital staff. She is so willing to help and do anything she can to ensure all nurses have the tools and education they need to give all patients the excellent care they deserve.

Recently, she even helped with patient care in the emergency department so that a nurse could attend a class, and the department wouldn't be short-staffed. As we know, hospital leadership requires a large amount of collaboration. I appreciate the weekly meetings that Kayleigh and I have to discuss what the department and staff needs are. This is a time for us to discuss new hires that are on orientation or just onboarding, ensure staff is signed up for all classes, drill down on what we can complete, and just make certain that there are no issues. We also work through open projects where extra education may need to be provided.

A quick story- A few weeks ago, Kayleigh and I were finishing our meeting, and she stood up to leave and stopped at my board. She knows this is where I keep my "larger" projects and items that need work. She walked over and erased one of my projects off the board. I stopped her and said, "Don't erase that! it's not complete!" She responded with, "I know, but I have taken it off your hands. I'll take care of it". I could have cried. Being an ED nurse manager is difficult, and I can't tell her how much I appreciate her taking that one task off my to-do list. The ED staff and other staff that I have talked to just love Kayleigh and her willingness to help wherever she is needed. She takes it upon herself to reach out to staff when they have a certification that's about to expire and ensure that they are aware and even helps them sign up, if needed.

In speaking with our Acute Care manager, she considers Kayleigh one of the best nurse educators she has ever worked with as she is approachable and available to all staff, if asked a question and she doesn't know the answer, Kayleigh will always find the answer and follow-up. In her time here at BRRH, she has made a huge impact on Acute Care by providing classes, providing essential updates, and working with the manager to ensure all new employees have what they need and feel comfortable at the end of their orientation. She also says, like me, that Kayleigh will just ask, "What can I do to help you today?"... and just that means so much. Again, it's a privilege to work with Kayleigh Chrisawn. Our patients, families, staff, and leadership are so blessed to have her as part of our BRRH team! There is no one more deserving of this award!