As a healthcare surrogate for two elderly parents, I have had many visits to Lakeland Regional.  At one point, some of the employees thought I worked there.  Unfortunately, those visits were not all pleasant ones for a variety of reasons.  However, after my most recent visit, I have the pleasure of nominating a nurse for the DAISY Award.

My encounter with this nurse started the second week that my stepmother was in the hospital, just after her surgery.  My father, who is 88 years old, and I waited nine hours for my stepmother to come out of surgery.  Apparently, there were complications and she was kept longer than expected in the recovery room. My father and I were given her future room number to wait for her, but when we arrived, the room was not ready, and we were directed to a waiting area by the elevators.  While we were waiting (for the tenth hour), an employee got off the elevator and saw us.  She immediately came over and asked us why we were there and if we needed anything.  She left and then returned with information about my stepmother, water, coffee, and snacks for us.  An hour later, we were directed back to the room where my stepmother was finally brought to.  The employee who had helped us came into the room and to our surprise, it was her nurse for the evening, Jennifer.

Jennifer told us everything that was going on with my stepmother and kept us up to date nightly without us having to ask.  She took great care of my stepmother, who underwent abdominal surgery and is a hemiplegic, by paying careful attention to her comfort.  We knew when to expect her as she would let us know when she was returning before she left for another patient and would come back on time.  She respected us as part of my stepmother’s care team, as she would contact the doctor immediately when we had questions.  This was greatly appreciated as my father and I could not always be there to “catch” the doctor’s visit, and my stepmother could not always remember what the doctor had said. As her healthcare surrogate, it is difficult to make healthcare decisions, help monitor my stepmother’s progress, and be able to provide optimal follow up care when I can’t be there to “catch” the doctor to get the information.   Jennifer relayed information back and forth between the doctor and me so I could help my parents make those important decisions. 

I understand a nurse’s job can be demanding, with many medical responsibilities for many patients, as I am a special education teacher and have similar responsibilities in caring for many children with medical needs.  My parents and I feel that Jennifer went above and beyond just caring for medical needs.  She kept the patient and family informed, respected us as part of the care team, and made us feel comfortable that my stepmother was being cared for with knowledge and compassion.  When we saw this nomination form, we knew Jennifer was so deserving of the DAISY Award.

Note: This is Jennifer's 2nd DAISY Award!