I have worked with Leah for over 11 years and I do not know where to start when describing Leah's vast knowledge of clinical experience, compassionate heart, and vivacious and lively personality that draws patients and her colleagues to her. She embodies the image that Saint Alphonsus represents, which is providing or helping others have that inner peace of mind, body, and spirit while recovering in a hospital setting. I have seen this image when she takes care of patients on the rehab floor and when it comes to the variety of patients rehab receives (spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, strokes, orthopedic patients, and patients that may have more than one of these ailments). I have seen the patience and compassion displayed toward patients that were underher care who were frequent callers, and Leah just simply stated, "the patient(s) just needed more attention," which she provided. The patients with spinal cord injuries could not get used to the odor during bowel care, so Leah provided and discussed techniques these patients could follow to ease the unpleasantness of the environment.
I remember the attention to detail she provided a patient who had multiple orthopedic injuries, bladder injuries, and abdominal injuries who had just come back to rehab after receiving laparoscopic surgery. She patiently spent a couple of hours trying to contact the surgeon and reconciling the medications and orders that were in a different encounter. She still managed to give extraordinary attention to the patient by providing a comfortable environment and pain management control.
Sometimes I look to Leah for her vast clinical experience of more than 15 years of nursing. Many times, I have asked for Leah's critical thinking experience when I am not sure about a medical situation a patient is experiencing, and I have never once been given an answer that did not state the reasoning behind her answer. I am moved by the same way she patiently informs her patients the tasks she is performing and the reasoning behind the tasks.
Leah is also the epitome of displaying team work when it comes to helping her coworkers. She helps other nursing staff with their patients by answering call lights that may not be hers. Leah's outgoing personality also impresses me. Not only is it displayed to patients, but to her colleagues as well. Her personality is bubbly and sometimes loud, but I love her for this. I have seen this personality draw strangers to her who meet her the first time. She is probably the only nurse on our floor who I have seen put together baby showers, retirement parties, and get well gifts for nursing staff when no one else seemed to be motivated in doing so. One day I told her, "Leah you have a good heart!" and I almost became tearful about saying it. I graciously feel Leah is a DAISY Nurse, because everyone on the rehab floor and I agree that she is the epitome of what the vision of Saint Alphonsus stands for.