We have the benefit of working with many committed nurses at Laurelwood but the nurses on our unit for severe and persistent mental illness are special in their own way. Angie is truly one of the most committed nurses I have ever worked with. She works daily with the last, the lost, the forgotten... but she never treats them like they are any different. She calls them "MY patients" and she cares for them with the protection that you would see from a family member.
Recently, we had a developmentally delayed patient on the unit who was definitely struggling with being away from his family for the first time. He was in need of a great deal of reassurance and time from staff. Angie was right there making sure that he had what he needed. We had another extremely violent patient in the milieu at that time but she was right there with our needy patient, holding his hand through it all.
This is a small example of the time and care she spends with patients. She sees them very much as the people that they are instead of the illness that they have. She brings things to celebrate them, to make them feel like they are real and to show them that they matter. She gives patients, who don't have many sacred moments, a chance to belong and to feel a sense of family. She nurses their souls. She is truly a DAISY Nurse.