I received a handwritten note from the daughter of one of our Medical Infusion patients. The note read, "My mother and I spend quite a bit of time in the Same Day Surgery Center. She is a MDS patient and receives blood transfusions.... I wanted to let you know how wonderful your staff is. But today, I especially wanted to let you know how much we appreciate Miriam. She often comes by to check on us and see if we need anything. She always goes above what we expect and is kind and patient. It is as if everyone here is her best friend. No task is too menial for her to do. I believe that when I see exceptional care, I should tell someone. So today, I want to praise Miriam!"

If this were an isolated incident, I might not see it as DAISY-Award-worthy. However, this is the Miriam I am blessed to work beside every day. Every single day, I see an example of how Miriam loves the patients we care for. When one of the Medical Infusion patients went to the ED with dizziness, she spoke of him like an old friend, with tears in her eyes and true concern about his well-being. She went to the ED to check on him, not because he was a patient but because he was a friend. As the writer of the note pointed out, Miriam treats each person she encounters like that individual, who is the only person in the room and her best friend.

I shared devastating news about a friend of mine and Miriam cried with me. She is the most empathetic, caring person I've ever encountered. She is exactly the kind of nurse the DAISY Award was created for. She touches her patients' lives and her coworkers' lives every day with a kind and generous spirit, always smiling and giving 150%.