Livingston Nurse Commended For Noticing 'The Little Details'

Sometimes people do notice the little things.

Susan DiRocco of Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston was recently honored with a Daisy Award For Extraordinary Nurses, a national award that recognizes “an extraordinary act of compassion or a relationship they have created with a patient that truly made a difference.”

The award selects recipients from among 1,900 healthcare facilities in all 50 states, as well as 14 other countries.

DiRocco was nominated for the award by a patient in her care, who wrote:

“I gave birth and was assigned a room for my recovery. Lucky for me that meant my AM nurse for the next two days was Susan DiRocco. She was extraordinary. Beyond keeping all the little details together for the parade of family stopping by, being friendly and welcoming toward them while always focusing on me and my daughter as the patient she took steps that others did not.”

The patient continued:

“For example, my delivery left me with a lot of pain and tenderness. She ensured a treatment that would bring me maximum relief, a sitz bath. This required additional discussion with my doctor because the resident who did rounds on me each morning disagreed but the nursing staff’s years of experience plus the consent of the doctor prevailed. Susan came with me into the bathroom, set things up for the ‘bath’, stayed with me throughout the process, sharing personal stories back and forth to make the environment more comfortable and once the bath was complete she got down on her knees to pat the area dry and check me.”

The patient concluded with the following thought:

“If the Daisy Award is meant for nurses who do everything in their power to put the patients’ needs first, Susan Di Rocco should be its recipient.”

Photo courtesy of St. Barnabas Medical Center via Facebook

Pictured above: From left, Jennifer O’Neill, DNP, APN, Chief Nursing Officer; Susan DiRocco, RN DAISY Award winner; Sheila A. Collier, BSN RNC, Director, Maternal Child Services.

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