Sheridan VA recognizes nursing excellence with DAISY Award

Great teamwork, and compassionately serving Veterans while promoting VA’s core values, are traits that earned Registered Nurse Erik Wesolowski the “DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses” from the Sheridan VA Health Care System. Wesolowski is the third nurse to receive a DAISY Award at the Sheridan VA this fiscal year.

Associate Chief Nurse of Medical Operations Jonda Johnson took part in the ceremony naming Wesolowski as the winner and shared some of the reasons leadership chose him out of the candidates.

“Mr. Wesolowski is a wonderful asset to the Sheridan VA Health Care System nursing team,” Johnson said. “He is passionate about caring for our Veterans and promotes our I-CARE values–Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence. His commitment to his team, our veterans, and clinical excellence is inspiring.”

Wesolowski works in the inpatient Mountain View Living Center at the Sheridan VA Medical Center. His coworkers, Nursing Assistants Missy Geertz and Leslie George, nominated him for a variety of reasons including his great attitude.

“Erik comes to work with a smile on his face every day,” Geertz wrote in the nomination. “He brings the good out in all of us, makes all of his staff smile.”

“He is just a very good all-around nurse,” George stated in the nomination.

Wesolowski’ s coworkers also praised his calming demeanor with patients, as well as his willingness to jump in and help with patient care no matter how full his hands might be. According to his coworkers, whenever there are difficult situations on the unit, he compassionately takes the time to check on the staff’s wellbeing.

According to the VA, nurses can be nominated for a DAISY Award by anyone—patients, family members, other nurses, clinicians, or other staff—who experiences or observes extraordinary, compassionate care being provided by a nurse. Other nurses nominated at the Sheridan VA for the third quarter include Leslie Baltz, Rachelle Dube, Chanele Horton, Michele Peck, Shelly Pourier, and Cynthia Songer.

The DAISY Award program is a nationwide program adopted by VA and community hospitals alike to help nurses always remember the unforgettable impact their care has on patients and families. The DAISY award was founded by a family that experienced the kindness and compassion of the nurses that cared for their loved one Patrick Barnes.