East Regional Medical Center (EGRMC) leaders gathered on Monday, May 2, 2022 to present Melissa Edrington, Clinical Director of Emergency Department and Dialysis with the 2022 EGRMC Daisy Nurse Leader Award. This award is presented as the kick off to National Nurses Week.
In addition to the leadership, co-workers and team members her husband Ron and her mom and dad, Connie and James Strange who traveled from their home in Albertville, Alabama, surprised her at the lunch presentation.
Melissa has been a nurse for 17 years. The past six years she has been in leadership at EGRMC.
"I am completely caught off guard. I never expected to be named the Daisy Leader. I think there are so many other nurse leaders in the hospital that are more deserving than I am," said Melissa Edrington. "But I really appreciate this. It is quite an honor. Thank you!"
You can watch the entire presentation below.
Daisy Nurse Leader Award Criteria
The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses was created in 1999 to honor the compassionate care provided by nurses as they care for patients and family members.
The DAISY Nurse Leader Award was created for quite a different purpose – to shine a light on the managers and others who do not typically have direct patient care as part of their work (COVID aside for many managers).
To be considered for the Daisy Nurse leader the must meet the minimum criteria including:
- Creating an environment where attributes of trust, compassion, mutual respect, continued professional development and ethical behavior are modeled and supported
- Being accessible, available, and responsive to the needs of their team
- Problem-solving and encouraging critical thinking
- Advocating for their teams
- Ensuring that the needs of the teams are communicated to organization leadership and organizational priorities and directions are communicated to their teams
- Being compassionate leaders
Marie Burdett, Chief Nursing Officer for EGRMC made the presentation to Melissa. During her presentation she read some quotes from the nomination. We have included a few here.
"Melissa Edrington excels in every one of these criteria. One of the first things noted when meeting Melissa and is done every time a new team member is onboarded, is that she gives them her personal cell number and informs them that she is available 24/7. She means it- 24/7 team members have contacted her with personal and work related concerns and issues. Melissa has been known to arrive at 0100 to meet the staffing demands of the department- putting her team and the needs of the patient first."
"Trust, mutual respect and ethical behavior are not only an expectation of Melissa for her team, but they are also role modeled by her. Confidentiality of team member concerns are maintained yet addressed building trust among the team. As many of us will attest – unethical behavior and practicing outside of one’s role is corrected and if not changed, dealt with in a professional manner."
"Professional development of the team has been a focus for Melissa. She advocated for the purchase of CEN review material and along with the CNO for certification pay. Since the receipt of both of these, the ED has seen an increase in the number of Certified Emergency Nurses. According to the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing, Emergency certified nurse’s lead to better care and better patient outcomes. Once again, Melissa puts patient care, patient outcomes and team members first."
"As a leader, Melissa does not micro manage her team. This is yet another way in which she allows her team to develop and demonstrates trust. She is open to the implementation of suggestions from the team and allows team members the space of trial and error in order to grow them as future leaders. Through the trial and error process, she develops and encourages problem solving and critical thinking."
"And lastly, we all have experienced the passion in which Melissa communicates the needs of the team and the needs of the patients in being adequately cared for. Concerns of her team are brought forth during committee and collaborative meetings. Bi weekly clinical coordinator meetings, weekly emails and quarterly staff meetings ensure that follow up communication regarding team concerns and organization priorities and directions are communicated and disseminated to all team members in a timely manner. "
"Melissa Edrington is one of the most compassionate and passionate leaders I have had the privilege to learn from. She truly leads with the team as the central and driving factor for every action and reaction she has. She knows when to push, when to temper, when to empower and when to coach her team to build a cohesive unit capable of delivering top notch patient care. In case you have not heard her say as many times as I have, she comes to work every day for her team- and it is evident."
Grice Connect sends our congratulations to Melissa Edrington for being recognized for her outstanding work at EGRMC and her incredible commitment to our community.
We also want to salute all of the phenomenal team members at EGRMC during National Nurses Week for their extraordinary work for all of us, every day.
