Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), a member of Dartmouth Health, honored two nurses recently, recognizing the clinical expertise and compassion each provided to their patients and patient family members.
Morganne Ottati, RN, a nurse in SVMC’s Kendall Emergency Department, and Ashlee Billert, RN, a nurse on the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were both recognized for helping their individual patients through stressful and uncertain moments. They were each presented with the DAISY Award for Exceptional Nurses after receiving individual nominations.
Morganne Ottati’s nominator wrote:
“I am a mom of two young children. I’m familiar with sickness but my child had a sudden seizure. I ran into the ER looking for help. From the start, Morganne was more than helpful. She showed compassion to my daughter, myself and husband. She ensured everything was taken care of and made sure my daughter was comfortable. After my daughter was stable, I had asked if it was safe for me to hold her. Morganne took the initiative to consult with the MD and confirm it was finally safe to hold my child as she noticed that I was in distress after witnessing my child’s emergency. She understood that holding my daughter would ease some of my stress and fear. During the worst 20 minutes I’ve ever experienced, Morganne ensured my child and I were cared for. She came in with frequent updates, took multiple extra steps such as making sure our vehicle was parked in the correct area overnight, all our stuff was gathered, and walked us through the next steps at our next hospital. I will forever be grateful for the compassion she showed that night.”
Ashlee Billert’s nominator wrote:
“I was a pacemaker patient who, because of a complication, was sent to the ICU overnight for observation. I had a great deal of anxiety about what might happen should my condition worsen overnight. My charge nurse was Ashlee and she did her best to give me comfort and traditional nursing care. When my wife and two daughters were visiting, she, at various points, had them so at ease that they were all laughing and that helped put me at ease. She physically checked on me during the night not just by looking at the monitors but by physically coming into the room, knowing that the blood pressure cuff would wake me every hour... When her shift was coming to an end at 7 AM, she came in with a coffee that she had ordered specially from the cafeteria before my breakfast. And she lent me her cell phone charger at the end of her shift because mine was not working. During all of this I really got to know her as a person…I was not her only patient, but Ashlee made me feel as if I were. I cannot say enough about what it meant to have her as my nurse for my single overnight stay.”
Congratulations to these two outstanding SVMC nurses!
The DAISY Award is an international recognition program honoring clinical excellence and outstanding compassionate care provided by nurses. Nurses are nominated by patients, families or colleagues and SVMC surprises the recipients with the honor. Awards are given out monthly.