Pictured above: Hailey Hensley, R.N., the latest DAISY Award winner
I was so impressed at the minute details that Hailey knew and remembered about my father. – Nominator
Hailey Hensley is the latest recipient of Cookeville Regional Medical Center’s (CRMC) DAISY Award.
“My 96-year-old father was admitted to the hospital after passing out at the dinner table,” according to Hensley’s nomination. “He also has dementia and a few other conditions (e.g., significant hearing loss). Hailey took amazing care of him, as I’m sure all Daisy nominees do for their patients. However, aside from her outstanding nursing skills, some things made Hailey stand out.”
The nomination continued.
“First, I was so impressed at the minute details that Hailey knew and remembered about my father. For example, one morning, the doctor mentioned that the monitor showed Dad’s heart rate was low, dipping to 30 beats per minute (bpm) at some points.”
Attention to detail was one of the things the nominator noticed.
“Hailey came into the room right after the doctor left, and I mentioned the 30 bpm: her response was, “That’s happened twice since he’s been here,” and proceeded to name the day and time that each one happened! Then, she gave us a summary of his range, where it hovered, and what it increased to when he was agitated. And she did it all in inpatient and family-friendly language, with not many technical terms. In another instance, my dad didn’t remember why he was there and asked Hailey. She reminded him he had slumped over at the dinner table. He asked her how he’d gotten there (“An ambulance brought you here.”) I didn’t even know those details were part of his record, much less that she’d remember them days later.”
The key is respect, and according to the nominator Hensley showed nothing but.
“Second, she treated him with such respect. She spoke loudly enough that he could hear her but didn’t yell at him,” said the nominator. “She spoke slowly enough that he could understand her but not so slowly that it seemed insulting. She always spoke to him as an equal, not with the condescending or childlike language that some people use when talking to people with dementia, calling them ‘Sweetie’ or ‘Honey’, etc. And she used just the right number of words—not too wordy to lose his attention and not so short that she left out information.”
Hensley stayed engaged throughout.
“Finally, she was super engaged with us, the family, more than just keeping us updated on his status. She patiently listened to my mother since she had a lot of questions about my dad and his/our preferences about the little details that seem small but make such a difference in someone’s comfort or attitude. She checked on us to see if we needed anything,” said the nominator. “I was so happy every morning when she showed up, relieved to know that my dad would have an outstanding nurse overseeing his day and giving him excellent care.”
According to CRMC, nurses can be nominated by anyone – patients, family members, other nurses, physicians, other clinicians, and staff who experience or observe extraordinary compassionate care being provided by a nurse.
Photo courtesy of CRMC.
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