It takes a truly confident, compassionate, knowledgeable nurse to walk in to a room and quickly gain the trust of a family whose child needs IV access or labs at the end of a hectic day or in the early morning hours. Melissa not only accomplishes this, but she often comes to the rescue of patients, families, and staff who have exhausted other resources to gain the critical access and lab work needed to help diagnose and treat our patients. She does this with a positive attitude; taking time to explain the procedure to the family, answering their questions, and making sure the child is comforted in whatever way she can before she gets started. She educates and answers questions from members of the health care team, from nurses to residents. While being incredibly efficient and dedicated to what she does, Melissa always does her job with her patients and families needs in mind.

As the only night shift Vascular Access nurse, the work she does truly impacts every single unit in the hospital. On this particular night we called her to look at a newly placed central line on a patient we were concerned about. After assessing the patient, she contacted the team, notified them of her concerns and requested the necessary ultrasound and x-ray needed to confirm her suspicions. By taking extra steps, the source of the concern was discovered and immediate medical care was implemented to correct the issue. I truly feel that Melissa's attention to detail, her knowledge of her job, and her confidence to utilize the resources needed saved this child's life.

Despite all of her hard work, communication with the health care team and the family, and staying late to make sure the proper care was in place, I felt that Melissa still left wishing she could have done more. Melissa truly epitomizes the essence of the DAISY Award and deserves to be recognized for the amazing work she does!