Maribel Aguirre-Duen is described by one of her patients as: “….. always willing and able to walk the extra mile for me”. She has been acknowledged by a number of her peers as inspirational, an advocate, and motivational. Time and time again other staff members who work with her describe the reassurance they receive from her smile regardless of the task or the challenge at hand. Most noticeably, however, throughout the nominations for Maribel is the overwhelming sense of the compassion she demonstrates for patients and their families.
One patient on her unit was a high school student who had emergency surgery and, due to her recovery period, she was going to miss her high school graduation. Maribel organized a graduation for the patient on the unit with a cap and gown, cake, and family and friends in attendance. In another situation, she noticed that the mother of a young cancer patient from another country was going without adequate food due to financial constraints and Maribel developed and implemented a strategy to assure that the mother was able to have meals.
It is clear from the five nominations Maribel received that she is a true example of the compassion, the nursing excellence, the patient and family focus, and the outstanding role modeling that are all hallmarks of the DAISY Award.