Jeri Klecki
December 2018
Jeri
Klecki
,
RN
Emergency Department
University of Illinois Hospital
Chicago
,
IL
United States
Jeri has been a nurse in our ED for over 25 years and has been an integral part of the care and education of countless nurses, physicians, and patients. I have had the honor of working alongside Jeri for the last 15 years and have watched her flourish within our shared governance structure. She tackles issues with a smile and volunteers to take on projects that others shy away from. She also has strong relationships with our physicians and has an uncanny ability to make them smile during a rough shift. Jeri always remains flexible in the ED, happy to jump into a resuscitation, take on the charge nurse role or start an IV on a 2-week old depending upon where help is needed. She is the first to think of the little things like getting the warm blanket or ordering a dinner tray for someone who has been waiting in the ED all day long, offering that extra little something to make their ED visit a bit more pleasant.
The story that comes to mind that really portrays Jeri as a DAISY Nurse is when she provided care to a recent patient in the ED. The patient had undergone surgery that led to some complications. The patient presented to the ED and Jeri was her primary RN. It seemed as though the patient wasn't coping well and wasn't healing. It also seemed as though she just needed someone to talk to. Jeri managed to make time to put the patient at ease. The patient was discharged and came back to the ED again in about 48 hours. Jeri was here again, not as her primary nurse, but in another assignment. She checked in a few times and ultimately the patient was discharged shortly afterward. For Jeri, it didn't stop there. Red flags went off. She was concerned that this patient needed some additional resources. The next day, Jeri called me at 6 am and said she was up half the night thinking about this patient and wanted to know what else we could do to help this patient. She reached out to our ED medical navigator/social work who was able to contact the patient and set her up with follow-up appointments and counseling. It is the littlest of details and interventions that can make such an impact on the outcomes of a patient. I am honored to be able to share this story about Jeri.
The story that comes to mind that really portrays Jeri as a DAISY Nurse is when she provided care to a recent patient in the ED. The patient had undergone surgery that led to some complications. The patient presented to the ED and Jeri was her primary RN. It seemed as though the patient wasn't coping well and wasn't healing. It also seemed as though she just needed someone to talk to. Jeri managed to make time to put the patient at ease. The patient was discharged and came back to the ED again in about 48 hours. Jeri was here again, not as her primary nurse, but in another assignment. She checked in a few times and ultimately the patient was discharged shortly afterward. For Jeri, it didn't stop there. Red flags went off. She was concerned that this patient needed some additional resources. The next day, Jeri called me at 6 am and said she was up half the night thinking about this patient and wanted to know what else we could do to help this patient. She reached out to our ED medical navigator/social work who was able to contact the patient and set her up with follow-up appointments and counseling. It is the littlest of details and interventions that can make such an impact on the outcomes of a patient. I am honored to be able to share this story about Jeri.