Newsworthy
We Celebrate Nicole Pacheco, BSN, RN, DAISY Award Winner
Nurses go above and beyond daily to provide patients and families with excellent care. For Nicole Pacheco, BSN, RN, at the Stormont Vail Health Topeka Campus Hospital Birthplace, taking time to create small moments that leave a lasting impact on patients is instinctual. For this reason, we celebrate Nicole for receiving the DAISY Award!
The DAISY Award celebrates and recognizes nurses who go the extra mile as a way to thank them for the care and compassion they provide. Nicole, who has provided exceptional care at Stormont Vail since 2016, received a nomination from a mother she supported through a premature delivery.
It’s a big surprise for any mother who learns they’re pregnant with twins. But for Nicole’s patient, the surprises didn’t stop there. After going into labor at just 35 weeks, she underwent a C-section that required her care team to move her twins to the NICU. The following day, the patient experienced significant hemorrhaging, which kept her from seeing her babies.
All of this happened in the two days before the patient’s birthday. Naturally, spending this day in a hospital room without her newborns left her feeling less than celebratory. However, when she returned to her room from the NICU, she discovered a pleasant surprise.
“When I returned to my room from the NICU, I noticed streamers on the outside of my hospital room,” the patient wrote in Nicole’s nomination. “When I opened the door, somebody decorated my whole room! It was so colorful and uplifting! And who would you know was behind this? Nicki! She even threw in some ‘Office’ decorations because she and my husband had talked about our love for the show!
Nicki went above and beyond. She is an EXTRAORDINARY nurse and an asset to Stormont, who made an upsetting situation bearable. When I think about my birthday experience, she is definitely a light.”
Nicole, congratulations on winning the DAISY Award! Your impressive attention to detail brings joy and comfort when patients need them most. We admire your dedication to small moments and thank you for your ever-present commitment to your profession, our patients, and our organization.
Do you know a nurse who deserves recognition for demonstrating extraordinary compassionate care? Submit a nomination to the DAISY Foundation. Please include the nominated individual’s name, what the candidate did that made a difference, and how the experience made you feel.
I went to triage on Monday night due to my high blood pressure. I was pregnant with twins but only 35 weeks along. To say I was emotional is an understatement. I was extremely physically uncomfortable, but I knew these babies needed more time.
The next day, my doctors decided I needed to have a C-section. Nicki was in my room when the NICU doctors came in and explained what I could expect when my babies were born. I was so overwhelmed and scared for my babies. This moment was the first time I cried at the hospital. Nicki didn’t hesitate to grab my hand and comfort me.
When I went to the operating room and they gave me the spinal, Nicki, again, was there holding my hands and helping me breathe through the pain. She also used my phone to take pictures during my C-Section, which allowed my husband to focus on me and our babies. The team immediately sent my boys to the NICU. I was able to visit them briefly the day they were born.
However, the next day, I hemorrhaged and needed two units of blood, so I couldn’t see my babies. The following day was my birthday, and needless to say, I wasn’t thrilled or even wanting to celebrate. I was in my hospital room, and my babies were in the NICU. I would get home in a couple of days, but not with my babies.
When I returned to my room from the NICU, I noticed streamers on the outside of my hospital room. When I opened the door, somebody decorated my whole room! It was so colorful and uplifting! And who would you know was behind this? Nicki! She even threw in some ‘Office’ decorations because she and my husband had talked about our love for the show!
Nicki went above and beyond. She is an EXTRAORDINARY nurse and an asset to Stormont, who made an upsetting situation bearable. When I think about my birthday experience, she is definitely a light.
