Leslie Shaffer, RN, is TidalHealth Peninsula Regional’s DAISY Award recipient for September 2024.
SALISBURY – Leslie Shaffer, RN, of TidalHealth Peninsula Regional’s 3 Layfield patient care unit, has been selected as the September 2024 recipient of the DAISY Award for her compassionate care and special attention provided to a recent patient.
In her nomination, a peer wrote:
We recently cared for a patient in the electrophysiology (EP) lab who did not speak English, and unfortunately had not family members to accompany her for the procedure. She was a little confused and anxious, which was completely understandable, given the circumstances.
EP staff were prepared to use the translation line, but there is nothing like a physical interpreter to help ease anxieties. We were told that a fellow TidalHealth team member would accompany our patient to the lab to translate and help guide her.
When we went to pick up our patient in the Progressive Care Unit (PCU), Leslie Shaffer was at the bedside, actively involved in the patient's care. We initially assumed that Leslie was the patient's primary nurse. Imagine our surprise when discovered that Leslie was not her primary nurse and did not even work on the unit where the patient was staying.
Arrangements were made for Leslie to accompany our patient to the EP lab from 3 Layfield, Leslie's home unit. As an ACLS cardiac certified 3 Layfield nurse, she was certainly qualified to care for her both before and after her procedure. It was such a pleasant surprise.
Just as no two patients are alike, no two EP procedures are the same. Patient anatomy can be very different, and occasionally we have exciting and challenging situations that arise in a matter of seconds. Leslie's cardiac background allowed her to competently assist and support the EP team and keep our patient calm.
For a newer RN who has never been in been in a potentially intimidating EP lab scenario, Leslie certainly rose to the challenge. She was helpful, attentive, supportive and communicative. She comforted the patient and acted as another valuable set of hands, which is always welcome in our world!
Leslie's selfless actions and patient dedication positively impacted not only the TidalHealth EP team but the patient and her family.
Shaffer was recently honored with the DAISY Award in a ceremony before her colleagues. She received certificates commending her for being an extraordinary nurse, and a sculpture called A Healer's Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.
The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, Calif., and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Barnes died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little-known but not uncommon autoimmune disease.
The care Barnes and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.
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