Daisy Award – Elma Miropija & Josh Davis
Congratulations to Elma Miropija and Josh Davis on being given the Daisy Award! Elma and Josh are nurses on the Coronary Care Unit at The Medical Center at Bowling Green. Thank you so much to to both of them for all of their hard work and for the excellent care given to their patients. The following is Elma’s nomination from a patient:
“My husband was brought to the CCU after an acute cardiac event in September. We had a godsend of a nurse having Elma as his day shift nurse a few days later. She was super with my husband and wonderful with me as his wife. I asked her to be “our person” the same as we had asked Josh on night shift. I had asked her to keep me grounded on who was who and help me make sense of all the doctors that come through on day shift. Each specialty seems to have a different take on what was going on. She would come in and listen and talk to me after. Explaining or answering any questions that I had. She made me feel comfortable enough to leave to shower and promised she would call if needed while I was gone.
Once I knew it wasn’t going to go our way, I was very adamant on having a diagnosis before I left the hospital. She went through his tests with the doctor and kept them looking at what all he had done to get that for me. We had Elma for several days and were always happy to see her. She also traded around to stay with us and care of my husband. When we made the difficult decision to not put my husband through any more unnecessary trauma, she made sure I had all the information I needed to make the best decisions for my husband.
The next morning after I came home without my husband, she texted me from her phone telling me how we were on her mind and how sorry she was. She tried to get her shift covered to attend my hubsand’s visitation but couldn’t get anyone to cover. (We live in a different town from the hospital we were at). She sent a beautiful wind chime for me in her absence for a man who never spoke a word to her. Again, that is way beyond being a good nurse. She is a great human being. I will always be grateful to Elma and Josh Davis for keeping me sane through the worst week of my life. In a world where people seem to be self serving, my faith in humanity is restored by these to two humans who didn’t know us but will forever have a place in my heart.“
The following is from Josh’s nomination from the same patient:
“My husband was brought in after an acute cardiac episode at our home, while sitting next to me talking about our daughter’s wedding, which was two days away. Josh was his nurse that first night and most of the nights we were there. He was the person who helped me navigate through the next week. He explained to me what the doctors were saying in their quick visits. He picked up an extra shift and traded around so he could be with us. (Who does that? Especially when my husband was so sick) He encouraged me to go to my daughter’s wedding (which was two days after he arrived. He promised he would take care of him and call me if anything happened. He listened to me and sat with me when I was alone. He was attentive to my husband before I even knew something was going on. He was with us on the last night when we knew my husband would not be coming home with me. He made sure everything was done that could be done for him and the rest of us who were there holding his hands. After my husband passed, he treated my husband with dignity and protected my wishes until the funeral home came to get him.
I was standing at my husband’s casket four days later and looked up, and Josh was in line to pay his respects. After he worked all night, and had a shift that night. My husband had never even spoke a word to Josh, and yet he still cared that much. We could have not asked for a better care giver and friend to our family in the most excruciating week of my life. I will never forget him. He deserves every accolade that can be awarded.“
You can say thank you by sharing your story of how a clinical support staff member made a difference you will never forget. Visit MedCenterHealth.org/daisy to nominate an extraordinary clinical support staff member.
