I have worked with and shared a common office with Ashley for the last 5 years. Over that time I have come to know her both personally and professionally. I can say without hesitation that she is one of the most caring and compassionate providers that I know.
I often see Ashley on the phone with patients discussing their problems and concerns. This may not seem like much but in a world fueled by electronic communication, this personal human touch is becoming rare indeed. She is always walking her patients down the hall talking about their family, or with a hand on their shoulder. Her ability to connect with her patients is very strong. Her desire to help, however, does not stop at the clinic door. She recently returned from a medical mission to Costa Rica where she provided free medical care to the underserved for a week. In a desire to go even further in improving the care of the underserved she will begin the Masters in Public Health program at Ohio State this summer. However, the event which prompted my interest in nominating her for a DAISY Award occurred at the beginning of April.
Ashley was on a plane going to visit friends and family when she responded to an overhead call for any medical personnel. The passenger in question was lightheaded, diaphoretic, and began experiencing chest pain. Ashley assessed the passenger, preliminarily identified this as a likely cardiac event and began treatment. The patient was given aspirin, nitroglycerin (which alleviated her chest pain), oxygen, and when she went momentarily pulseless Ashley provided compressions until the patient came around. As all of this was going on, she was also tasked with deciding whether or not to divert the plane to an earlier landing at a city that was not the original destination. She responded in the affirmative and the plane landed early and was met by EMS on the tarmac.
Willingness to respond to an in-flight situation demonstrates care and compassion as it is. However, what really stands out in my mind is her decision to divert the plane knowing full well this would disrupt her and everybody else's travel plans. It is my belief that in this situation it would be easy to convince oneself that care of the patient could be delayed until the original destination was reached. However, placing the patient first, Ashley made the decision to divert the plane and ensure patient safety.
It is my opinion that Ashley's career in general, and this incident in particular, is precisely what the DAISY Award is designed to recognize.