I am recommending Kylie for The DAISY Award. She was my father's nurse on the second floor for several days during his five-day stay. There is a special quality about Kylie—both as a nurse and as a person. Not only was she great with my father, but she was great with me as his caregiver. I find myself racking my brain trying to find the words to explain the excellent care and compassion Kylie had for my dad. Instinctively, she knew exactly how to communicate with him and how to comfort him. She was always so patient and kind. I realize some of these traits are traits that many nurses demonstrate, but Kylie rises above because she is so genuine and gives her heart so completely and unconditionally to her patients. Not only did she do that for my father, but I watched her demonstrate these qualities throughout the second floor as she interacted with other patients during my father's stay.
I also appreciated Kylie's knowledge and her ability to help me understand. She is very observant and detail oriented. She walked into my father's room while he was eating one day and noticed that he was possibly aspirating into his lungs. She then followed up by contacting the doctor and by giving him a swallowing test to more accurately assess the situation. I truly believe that most nurses would not have noticed what was happening. It was pretty subtle.
Dad's capacity to communicate diminished during his hospital stay, but he WAS able to tell us which nurses and aides he thought were doing such a great job. Kylie was at the top of his list! My father's illness was very sudden and severe. Therefore, I was struggling to cope and understand all that was going on. It was so comforting to have Kylie taking care of my father. So many decisions were being made and knowing that Dad was in good hands and receiving excellent care from Kylie made it easier when I had to be out of the room for some of these decisions.
Another extremely special quality that demonstrates how Kylie goes above and beyond is the way she provided help and support for me and my family. She always took the time to answer questions and was so prompt about getting anything we needed—whether it was a visit from the doctor or a question for our case manager or something for my father. Kylie also has such a beautiful calm and peacefulness about her in dealing with all situations, and I took advantage of more than one hug of support! Kylie is an amazing nurse and an amazing person. She provides a quality of care that is next to none, and I believe she is the very definition of the kind of nurse that deserves to be recognized for an award like the DAISY Award. I hope you will consider and honor her with this award.