ED Nurse Inspires Gratitude from Patient's Family

Trudy Durant, RN, PCCN Honored With DAISY Award

Grace under pressure and an overwhelming patience in the incredibly busy Emergency Department (ED) at CVPH are just part of what makes Trudy Durant, RN, PCCN stand out to her patients and colleagues. Those two qualities are also among the reasons Trudy has been presented with the hospital’s 14^th DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.

Trudy, who has worked at CVPH for three decades and spent the last 14 years in the ED, was nominated for the honor by a patient’s family member. In a note to the DAISY Committee, the family member wrote about the compassion and kindness he witnessed in action while sitting in a room within earshot of the front desk during one late night and early morning in February.

“I heard several people come in that I would describe as moderately unreasonable or aggressive,” the family member wrote in his nomination letter. “Trudy was fantastic with each and every one of them. She very quickly got the situation under control and had continued on with her shift.”

He went on to call Trudy a magician on the phone, noting that she was able to calm the callers down while offering any advice she could before moving on to her next task.

“Her interactions with us were great,” the family member wrote. “But it was the way she handled herself and the attitude and empathy for incoming patients (plus over the phone) that were so impressive. Any organization would be lucky to have Trudy as the frontline in customer service.”

Trudy is often one of the first people patients and their loved ones see when they come into the ED. As the triage nurse, part of her job includes assessing and prioritizing the level of care each patient needs as they come in the door. Colleagues praise Trudy's reassuring and calming demeanor as key to easing patient concerns and diffusing many potentially difficult situations.

“Her commitment to delivering the best care to her patients is something to be admired,” CVPH Assistant Nurse Manager Michael Wells added. “She most certainly has become a staple for the ED, especially as the first face that patients coming into the hospital see overnight.”

“She commits every shift to providing the best care possible to our patients,” CVPH Emergency Department Director Gail Bjelko offered. “Trudy is able to prioritize their care and lessen the anxiety of their waits in triage.”

Gail also pointed out that Trudy is respected among the group for her commitment to her colleagues inside and outside the hospital.

“You can always rely on her to show up at going away dinners or breakfast with her “night” crew. We are her family and she is ours. She treats every patient like they are her family, too,” Gail said.

During a surprise ceremony with the ED team, Truday was presented with a certificate commending her as an extraordinary nurse. She, like all honorees, also received a DAISY Award pin and a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called “A Healer’s Touch,” which is hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.

CVPH launched the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses in 2018 as a way to recognize and reward licensed nurses for making a meaningful difference in the lives of their patients. Nomination forms and boxes are located at each of the hospital’s main entrances and on the CVPH website. Nurses may be nominated by patients, families and colleagues. A committee reviews nominations and awards a deserving nurse each quarter.

The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care they provide patients and families every day. The DAISY Foundation is a national not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes by members of his family.  Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System). The care Patrick 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. More information is available on the DAISY Foundation website.

Watch the award ceremony: