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Meet Dawn Pawlowski, RN

Dawn is an asset to the ICU at Manchester Memorial Hospital. She has gone above and beyond by lending her knowledge to everyone around her. She has never declined to help anyone, despite being overwhelmed with her own assignments. She is a great resource to everyone, but even more so to new nurses. One nurse in particular who nominated her for this award says, "It is reassuring to work with someone who is always pleasant and positive and ready to help." She continues, "There are numerous times she has gone beyond the call. I recall she was a pod partner with me on the shift. I had a patient who was tough to stick. Despite her busy assignment, she quickly helped without question. That night was extremely busy with her patient being high acuity and she always puts the patient's and everyone elese's needs first before herself."
 
Dawn has demonstrated excellence above what is normally expected of her by being a good leader. For example, she always checks in and ensures that everyone is set for the night. She is very thorough, and if anything needs to be addressed, she will bring it up. When the nurses have trouble communicating with a provider, Dawn is a good resource and ensures patient care is not delayed. And even during our non-busy hours, she rounds and checks on inventories to ensure the unit has everything required for emergency purposes. 
 
"Dawn is a wonderful charge nurse. She checks in with every staff to ensure no one is overwhelmed alone. She sets a good example on how to be a leader, and we look to her." 

 

Congratulations, Dawn!

 

ABOUT the DAISY Award
D.A.I.S.Y is the acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The DAISY Foundation was formed in November 1999, by the family of J. Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). The nursing care Patrick received when hospitalized profoundly touched his family. The family felt they and Patrick experienced the best of Nursing. Not only did they witness expert clinical skill for a very complex medical situation, but it was the kindness and compassion that the staff showed to Patrick and his family every day. The following is a quote from the DAISY Foundation website:

“We were awed by the way the nurses touched him and spoke with him, even when he was on a ventilator and totally sedated. The way they informed and educated us eased our minds. They truly helped us through the darkest hours of our lives, with soft voices of hope and strong loving hugs that to this day, we still feel”.

After Patrick’s death, the family created the DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses. Their goal was to “ensure that nurses know how deserving they are of our society’s profound respect for the education, training, brainpower, and skill they put into their work and especially for the caring with which they deliver their care”.

Nominations can be submitted by patients and families and those experiences submitted are reflective of an excellent patient and family experience. The foundation cites, “The nomination stories are rich in data that can describe what is important to patients, their families and others who encounter great, compassionate nursing care. By honoring extraordinary acts of compassion, recognition can positively influence the patient’s perception of their experience”.

The quarterly Eastern Connecticut Health Network (ECHN) DAISY award program is for Manchester Memorial Hospital, Rockville General Hospital and Visiting Nurse & Health Services of CT staff registered nurses. We are fortunate to have nurses such as Jodi Trotter.

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