In recognition of her unwavering dedication to pediatric nursing and over 40 years of service to children and their families, we are honored to award Doctor Kristi Klee with the DASY Lifetime Award. This nomination was a collaborative effort among many who have known and been impacted by Kristi in their careers here at Seattle Children’s.  Kristi started as a clinical nurse on a med-surg unit and worked in many roles and locations including ICUs and Dialysis. She served as a Clinical Nurse Specialist on the Medical Unit prior to moving into the Director, Clinical Nursing Quality and Safety role. Kristi is always ready to learn something new and demonstrated her commitment to continuous learning through the attainment of an additional certification in wound care, the completion of two Master’s Degrees and her completion of her Doctorate of Nursing Practice.  Her impact has been profound, driven by her unwavering passion for children with special healthcare needs. Through her unique ability to connect with patients, families, and staff with compassion and humor and her relentless pursuit of excellence, Kristi has built a legacy worthy of celebration. 

A Passionate Advocate for Nurses:

In every role Kristi has worked in, she has been a fierce advocate for nurses.  Her commitment to building up others is demonstrated in her natural inclination towards mentoring and her dedication to helping nurses develop and find their own voices and passions to fully contribute to the nursing profession.  She drives improvement by modeling and encouraging open communication and collaboration.  She is insatiably curious and channels that curiosity to seek out solutions to challenges that improve outcomes for children and their families as well as work for the nurses directly providing care.  She has built pathways and policies always with the intention of making it easier for staff to do their very best work on behalf of children.  Kristi helped start the Nursing Bioethics Program at SCH with another CNS - recognizing the impact of ethical challenges in healthcare and the importance of elevating the voices of the nurses directly caring for patients and families in difficult circumstances.  She has a clear understanding of ethical analysis but really shines in her ability to empathize with staff and help us all consider many perspectives of what is good and right.  Kristi leads Nursing Shared Governance with an eye on giving agency back to frontline nurses so they can fully realize their unique contributions to nursing practice and the improvement of patient care.  

A Legacy of Compassion and Humor:

The hallmark of Kristi’s legacy is undoubtedly her compassion and humor.  She is as quick to offer a safe space to process a difficult or distressing situation as she is to offer a quip to make you smile.  Reportedly, she’s been on the receiving end of many tears, the holder of difficult conversations, and the celebrator of others’ successes.  Kristi easily infuses humor into daily practice and her light-hearted approach has eased the anxiety of the children she’s helped care for and the staff who look to her for guidance and leadership. In short, Kristi carries what has been described as “a presence” that is palpable and reassuring.  One example of this came up in shared memories of a patient whom Kristi coordinated care for on the Medical Unit for about 10 years.  While gathering memories of Kristi from RNs who worked with her on the Medical Unit, this patient came up over and over again.  Kristi is remembered by staff for always being available to help nurses with this patient’s complex care needs. Staff reported memories of feeling trepidated after learning about the complex needs of this sweet patient, and Kristi would show up in the room.  She spent hours with this patient and his nurses over the years demonstrating, teaching, and ensuring that the patient had excellent clinical management of his many skin care needs and wounds as well as a therapeutic environment to be a child in.  Although Kristi was always working on something, she never appeared too busy to help with this patient’s care and spent extra time with the patient playing, making him giggle, and bringing a little joy amidst his multiple admits.   

Another example comes from a nurse reflecting on her first code blue event on acute care.  Kristi arrived about an hour after this code event to find a somewhat traumatized RN cuddling a teddy bear that happened to be at the nursing cluster.  Kristi debriefed the event, provided extensive reassurance and, of course, had the entire cluster giggling about something by the end.  And in talking with multiple staff, this is what comes up over and over - her infectious humor and expressions of deep caring.  

Kristi is a legend at Seattle Children's, known for her unwavering dedication for all patients and her no-nonsense approach to ensuring their care was always top-notch. With a sharp wit and a heart of gold, she commanded excellence from nurses and providers alike, always advocating fiercely for the best possible outcomes for our pediatric patients. She has been an admirable leader and beloved supervisor.  Kristi has worn many hats and fulfilled many roles: Leader, mentor, nurse, colleague, and friend.  Her fingerprints seem to be everywhere in this institution.  We are better nurses and people for knowing her.  With deep gratitude and appreciation, we recognize Kristi Klee with the DAISY Lifetime Award.

Note: This is Kristi's 3rd DAISY Award!