Our DAISY Nurses
Sonya Amezcua, RN
Primary & Specialty Care Clinic
September 2023
Sonya is caring and compassionate about the care the patients receive, her interest is not just job security but showing she truly cares about patient’s needs. Her strong communication skills are unwavering and highly needed in a healthcare environment, her ability to communicate in a multidisciplinary clinic with multilanguage is one of her many characteristics.
Her empathy towards patients and staff is to be modeled; her empathy shows by putting herself in each patient’s shoes and practicing empathy. Sonya pays attention to details that go above and beyond her nurse role, she's responsible for people’s well-being and their lives which makes her role that much special to the patients. Under pressure or dealing with a patient medical emergency Sonya remains calm and collected while executing the best medical practices in her role, she is able to focus on the emergency at hand and at the same time delegate what is needed from other staff members to keep the clinic flow moving amidst the emergency to not disrupt other patient care.
Sonya's sense of humor in a mentally and physically stressful work environment is fitting and highly welcomed. Working alongside her makes working in healthcare a pleasant and welcoming place, she takes the opportunity to enjoy the downtime and incorporates a light-hearted attitude that provides much-needed stress relief with her humor.
Sonya's commitment to patient advocacy ensures she's always fighting for the very best care for her patients. The nurse’s mission statement is executed daily, keep patients safe, be an advocate for patients, and have a strong passion for patient advocacy. I couldn't think of another nurse that deserves this award. - Nominated by a co-worker
Danette Ligas, RN
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
August 2023
During our three-week stay at the hospital in the PICU, with moments of fear and uncertainty with our one-year-old baby girl, we were able to find peace and comfort through Dane. Dane was nothing short of amazing. She went above and beyond to ensure that our sweet girl was healthy, as comfortable as possible, and happy. Dane not only provided comfort to our girl but to the whole family. Dane’s energy, empathy, intelligence & kindness all left us in a state of peace when she was around. When my husband and I had to step out and a relative had to stay with our daughter, and we had the privilege of having Dane as our daughter’s nurse, we felt at ease. Throughout our stay, our family members would ask who the nurse on call was and were always relieved when we said Dane because, throughout their short visits, they were able to see Dane’s compassion and genuineness.
On one occasion, my husband and I had to work where a relative stayed with our one-year-old and Dane was our nurse. Our one-year-old had a bile duct repair surgery and was very fussy & uncomfortable; our relative was anxious to step out in fear of making our one-year-old upset due to the fact that she was already going through so much pain and uncomfortableness. Dane assessed the situation, stepped in, without having to be asked, and offered to watch our girl while my relative stepped out for a second. Our baby became fussy, and Dane comforted her to the best of her ability, held her, sang with her, played with her, and made her as comfortable as possible.
We cannot express in words how much of a kind, genuine, intelligent nurse Dane is. We need a million Danes in this world. Thank you for being the kind, comforting, gentle, and peaceful nurse and person that you are. Thank you for being our little piece of peace and comfort throughout the scariest moments of our lives. We will remember you forever, Dane! - Submitted by a patient’s family
Janis McCall-Stokes, RN
Labor & Delivery
June 2023
"Janis is the mother of our unit. As our ANI, she is an excellent leader and cares for everyone she comes in contact with. The patients feel reassured when she rounds and often praise her for her efforts and gentle touch whenever we need her assistance. Whether in an emergency, assisting with IV’s, or just taking the time out to listen to patients and families, she’s there. She is the epitome of a team player and makes sure that she is an available resource and things flow as smoothly as possible for all of us.
Janis has never asked us to do anything that she wouldn’t do and always offers a helping hand. I have seen her on many occasions’ clean patients’ rooms, pull trash, clean the breakroom, organize the unit, set up delivery tables, get water for patients and visitors, etc. She goes beyond the walls of UI Health to let us know she cares also. She cooks and bakes for us all the time, she visits us if we are ill or bereaved, and never hesitates to offer any assistance where needed. Janis has built healthy relationships with engineering, housekeeping, NRO, the residents, and attending, you name it. No one hesitates to help or listen to her because she treats everyone with kindness and respect. As a new hire at UI Health, she has shown me so much, trained me for charge, and helped me become a better nurse. A lot of us seek her council for work and non-work related advice.
Janis will be retiring soon, and I cannot think of a more deserving nurse for this award. Any mention of her retiring and every is happy for her, yet sad for our unit as Janis is an irreplaceable part of our unit and Labor & Delivery family." - Submitted by a co-worker
Rogelio Herrera, RN
Adult Psychiatry
May 2023
"Nurses who work in psychiatry generally are experts in behavioral health management with specialized skills to manage difficult patients who are often considered to be dangerous on the other floors. While our focus is on behavioral health, the medical and surgical portion of our nursing skills tend to rust due to the less frequent practice. Our strength lies in the ability to identify signs & symptoms of patients’ mental status. Most healthcare workers, including those of us in psychiatry, often don’t expect ourselves to identify patients who are medically decompensating and need acute medical care. After all, if they were that sick, they would be on the medical floor first then transfer to us. Well, on 8E Adult Psychiatry we had a nurse who proved that despite being one of those typical behavioral health nurse, went above and beyond to identify a medically compromised situation of the patient despite many other experts being around. He avoided a potentially unsafe and life-threatening situation for a patient. This is why I would like to nominate Rogelio Herrera, BSN, RN 8E Adult Psychiatry for the Daisy award for extraordinary nurses.
Rogelio was taking care of a patient who was on 8E experiencing psychosis and other sever mental health issues. This patient was going through one of his toughest duration of life while having no insight into his condition that was tough for the staff. To make things worse, he developed COVID-19 and the isolation precautions associated with COVID became a challenge to easily identify any significant deterioration. During one of his shifts, Rogelio identified all the usual and abnormal behaviors associated that were not consistent with his routine behaviors. Despite his coworkers disagreeing with him about any potential deterioration Rogelio didn’t give up but did some research. As he was able to find evidence-based literature pointing towards critical electrolyte imbalance, he escalated the matter to the on-call doctor which ordered some lab work.
When the lab work came back, it showed the patient had a severe electrolyte imbalance warranting a transfer to the medical floor for emergency correction. Due to Rogelio’s nursing assessment skills, trusted interprofessional relationships, and diligence this patient avoided the extreme symptoms and depth of illness many experience who have COVID-19. Rogelio identified the need for the team, had the courage to escalate it despite discouragements from others and completed the task with teamwork and efficiency. Rogelio was recognized on the unit, but I do believe such inspiring stories should go above and beyond our unit to show the world who we are. He definitely inspired me and everyone else in our department." - Submitted by a co-worker
Lyn Resos, RN
Mother Baby
January 2023
"Where do I begin. Nurse Lynn is so special because of her attention to detail. From the moment she introduced herself to me she had a warm smile which made my postpartum recovery very comfortable. She went the extra mile by listening to me when I was in pain/discomfort and always managed to make that moment better by bringing an ice pack or extra pillows (which definitely helped).
We both sat and talked about life. We even laughed. Those particular moments helped me see that Nurse Lyn has a warm caring heart that is obvious to see that this profession is not just a career to her, but that she truly enjoys what she does . . . which is to help her patients from the heart.
She is a great nurse, very attentive and loving. She is knowledgeable and so “on time”. Nurse Lynn is able to multi-task through all her patients without missing a beat. She listened to my body and explained what I didn’t know. I have no words because she was simply everything! Although it has been such a short time with Nurse Lynn, I feel like I have known her longer and are very sad to say goodbye to her when I will be discharged.
Nurse Lynn truly deserves this award." - Submitted by multiple patients
2022 Awards
Claudine Garcia, RN
Medical ICU
December 2022
"Claudine made my stay a great experience. Here are some of her skills which made a huge difference from any level of care that I have ever experienced: professional, dedicated, attentive, caring, empathetic, knowledgeable, compassionate, and patient.
Claudine has great social and leadership skills, has great attention to detail, and critical thinking. She made a great effort to understand what I have been going through. She was always reliable, respectful, optimistic, and even tempered. She has a patient-centered care approach, very flexible caring for various patients at once, open minded, and versatile. Claudine is very physically strong, ensuring that I did not fall as she helped me get out of bed. On numerous occasions I noticed her assisting and educating other nurses.Claudine is an essential member of the UIC team. She has made a profound impact on my outcome, and I believe she promotes the welfare of her patients with her attitude of advocacy." - Submitted by a patient
Juliet Owusu, RN
Mother Baby
June 2022
"Juliet made quite the impact on our family, and we are so grateful for the help and reassurance she provided. My husband and I read many evidence-based texts and thought we were prepared and ready to welcome our first child. As soon as I got there my birthing plan was thrown out the window and I needed a c-section. Then our baby failed a hearing test on one ear and was also diagnosed with jaundice. We soon realized that reading books and having a newborn were two different things.
Juliet showed us so much compassion and kindness during the most stressful and beautiful time of our lives. When I was in pain and tired, she kindly encouraged me to do my breathing exercises and prepared me to walk when I was ready. She made sure I was taken care of so that I could take care of my new baby. While my mother could not be there to help me, I truly felt like she was a member of my family. She made me feel safe and comfortable.
She also made sure to offer helpful suggestions for caring for our baby boy Benji. She was so loving towards our baby boy and held him with such care.
My husband is a Physician Assistant, and my sisters are nurses. My husband works with nurses in many different hospitals, and he was equally impressed with the care she gave us. Your hospital is truly blessed to have such a compassionate nurse and she truly is a role model for other nurses to follow. For these reasons and many more, I think nurse Juliet deserves a Daisy Award for her hard work and commitment to her patients." - Submitted by a patient
Jacinta Adjei, RN
6E SD
May 2022
"My mother was admitted to UI Health. From the minute I met Jacinta she exuded confidence and compassion. She made sure I knew that she was available for ANYTHING I needed - and she continually asked if I needed anything - not solely focusing on my mother's needs. When I first met her in my mother's room, I actually thought she was a nurse tech because she was in the middle of the action, cleaning my mom and making sure her bedding was properly made. Whenever I needed her she came immediately and she looked me in the eye, listening intently to what we needed.
She lingered in the room, expressing her love for elderly people as demonstrated through stories of caregiving in her early days in our country. She had tears in her eyes - it was so evident that she has an overwhelming amount of compassion for people. I appreciated her willingness to share that part of her story with me.
When I had to leave for the night, Jacinta could tell that I was apprehensive about leaving my mom alone. She promptly assured me, gave me the desk phone number, and told me to call any time that night. She also said she would check in on my mom frequently, get her cleaned up for bed, turn the T.V. off for her and take off her eye patch and glasses when it was time for sleep. Lastly, she told me that after her rounds she would sit with my mom until she fell asleep. I have NEVER EVER had a nurse tell me that. I was floored. I cried tears of relief and appreciation for this woman, this nurse, who cared for my mom as I would. As I am sure you can imagine, the whole hospital situation was extremely stressful, especially coming off of SEVENTEEN hours in the ER. I couldn't have been more grateful for Jacinta.
Jacinta Adjei is a beautiful soul and should most definitely be recognized by your committee. There is no one more deserving." - Submitted by a patient’s family
Susana "DeLeon" Jinang, RN
5NE
March 2022
"I nominated Susana Deleon Jinang. She is very respectable, responsible, seasoned, humble nurse. Susana will arrive to work at 2 pm, sometimes 2:30 pm. She will look up her assigned patients and review their charts, while making notes on important work sheets. She is always punctual even when she fell on an iced over concrete while coming to work last year, she was the first to arrive at work with the pain and scrapes on her knee and arms. When you think about dedication to the call of being a nurse, she embodies Florence Nightingale. She is a nurse because she loves to care and put her 1000% to the caring of her patients. There was a time we had a patient on end-of-life care and Susana gave the patient a bath, dressed her up and made her end-of-life memorable for the family. If I am a patient in the hospital, I pray to have a nurse like Susana taking care of me. She deserves this award and I hope that she receives it." - Submitted by Lillian Allen
