My favorite hero is now Samantha the daytime nurse who tended to my mother. Samantha has the perfect mix of strength and compassion and humor. My mother was scared, in pain, and had trouble communicating. She was lucid and aware that Samantha took the time to notice and communicate back that she understood. She informed my mother of each procedure and actually got her to smile and joke around when she was in pain. Samantha was my mom’s angel and my hero for this most stressful time in my mother’s life. We are pleased with other nurses who attended to my mom but Samantha stood out. Seeing her patient interactions with my mom, despite her obviously being very busy brought tears of happiness and relief to my mother and me.

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I am an RN on PCU3 writing on behalf of a patient who is blind. The patient wanted to give extra recognition to Samantha for all of her hard work. He states, “she is truly a blessing and made sure all my needs were met today. I have been waiting on an MRI of my foot for a while. Samantha took one look at my wound and made sure the doctor saw it today. Because of her persistence and advocacy, I finally had my MRI today to assess the infection in my foot. Also, when my IV went bad and I needed a new one, she listened to me about how to best find a new one for me. She is the first person to listen to me and ask what works for me. She is a compassionate nurse and never made me feel like a burden. She has provided comforting and encouraging words to get me through this time. All of my nurses have been great but she truly has gone above and beyond.” As a team member, it was nice to know I am working with people who care and make a difference.