Marissa, RN shows compassionate and thorough care each and every day; however, there is a specific instance in which she showed this true and true. An established, elderly patient in our Family Medicine office was in the hospital for multiple days and was sent to a SNF/SAR. Our office received a call from the wife requesting information on how to care for his chest tube as it is just her and her husband (the patient) living alone. Obviously confused as to how an elderly couple managed to be sent home alone with a chest tube, Marissa contacted multiple different clinics to get more information, including the cardiothoracic surgeon whom the patient was to see in a few days, the wound care clinic, the SNF/SAR in which he was discharged from, and a social worker who had been working with the family. Marissa remained in touch with each clinic/person to provide care for this patient and his wife, who were clearly distraught and unsure of what to do, as well as continued to update the wife frequently by ensuring her that she was actively collaborating with his team. Marissa collaborated with everybody professionally, compassionately, and thoroughly to be able to provide the best care possible for a family in a very rare and unique situation.

I really do believe that Marissa deserves this DAISY Award for so many reasons; however, this story will always stand out to me as I have not seen a nurse work the way she did to provide care for a very deserving family.