For the last year, this new leader had to endure the busiest, scariest, and most challenging year we have encountered in healthcare in our lifetime. With every challenge, she and her team worked through each new process and effectively relayed the messages to their staff. As issues, questions, processes changed, she led her team through solutions, answers, and new processes the entire year. I really can't even articulate the amount of stress that this leader and her entire staff have endured. I don't think anyone will ever understand what they have seen, experienced, felt, and continue to face through this pandemic. Daily challenges have included staffing for up to 50 ICU patients with an already high vacancy rate for the original 32 beds, high acuity patients, increased code blues, and Rapid Response Team calls, PPE process to have tight control on inventory, PAPR process and uses, every ICU process had to be evaluated for how COVID would affect the way things were done i.e. ambu bag, BiPAP, intubations, extubations, etc. This leader was often in staffing with her leaders. Often times she put all she had into MCMC ICU, and she didn't reserve enough for herself. For that sacrifice, in addition to countless other reasons, she is a true DAISY Nurse Leader,

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My manager is one of a kind, she goes above and beyond. She is very selfless in every decision she makes for the unit. The week of the snowstorm, she started to help the staff in advance to plan for housing and transportation to the hospital. She stayed in a hotel nearby. She assisted the staff and helped with night shifters staying in the day shifters' rooms while they were at work and vice versa. I personally stayed at the hospital from Sunday to Friday. The staff staying in the hospital struggled with food being provided to us on Sunday night and Monday morning. Monday morning the cafeteria was closed, she was notified and called administration immediately and they opened the doors. I will forever be grateful for that. She also left the hospital that Monday and went into the ice and snow to Costco and bought Lunchables, Uncrustables, snacks, and drinks out of her own pocket. This wasn't something she had to do but she did because she saw her staff suffering and the morale of the unit was down.

She is one of the most selfless people I know. She comes in no matter what time of day or night to help the unit, whether it means to help do PCT, task RN, or charge. No job is too "low" for her. During the storm, EVS was short, she was doing housekeeping work to keep the unit clean. She makes the staff feel supported and feel respected by her. She does not get compensated for coming in on weekends, holidays, or nights, but she does not blink an eye if she needs to. She leads by example. The way she treats the staff, ICU staff, and hospital staff, is inspiring.

She has earned everyone's respect. Anybody and everybody would follow her into a hurricane. They know when they follow her that they will be supported no matter what happens. knowing this about her is the most invaluable asset that she could ever have. Jennifer is one of a kind.