SVHC Nurse Gretchen Martinez Recipient of June DAISY Award
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BENNINGTON, Vt. — Gretchen Martinez, RN, a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), was the June recipient of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC).
"Gretchen offers patients and their families heartfelt compassion and genuine concern," said Pamela Duchene, PhD, APRN, SVHC’s chief nursing officer and vice president for Patient Care Services. "She spends all of the time they need, and that makes an incredible difference."
Martinez’s nominator, the daughter of a patient, who lives 1,500 miles away, appreciated how Martinez treated the patient as if he was her own dad and cared for her as well.
"I cannot even begin to put into words the way this nurse impacted both me and my dad during his stay," she wrote. "She went so above and beyond to be there for me through this time. She stayed on the phone with me while I cried my eyes out."
It was remarkable, she shared, that the patient, who has dementia, remembered Martinez’s name and mentioned his appreciation for the care he received in calls to his daughter.
"The DAISY Award is a tremendous honor,” said Martinez. "To be included in the same category as the previous recipients of this award is a privilege, as they all epitomize everything special about the field of nursing and especially the care we give here at SVHC."
Martinez continued, "Families are incredibly important parts of the care team. Our ability to be there for them, to hear them, and support them only benefits patients outcomes and chances for success."
Martinez received a bachelor’s degree at Indiana State University and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Southern Vermont College. She started at SVMC as an LNA at 2006 and as an RN since 2008. She has worked in Cardiology, Infection Prevention, and as assistant to the director of the ICU. Currently, she works in the ICU and the Pain Clinic.
The DAISY Award is part of a national merit-based recognition program established by the DAISY Foundation. It celebrates nurses’ education, training, and skill. Nominations can be submitted by patients, families, physicians, and colleagues. All nominations are blinded, so that they are anonymous before being reviewed by a selection committee. One nurse is then chosen as the DAISY Award winner. DAISY Awards are presented on a regular basis, usually bi-monthly or quarterly.
