Salinas Valley Health Daisy Award Recipient Demonstrates Passion & Persistence

Media Contact: Karina Rusk
831-759-1843

– Not every caregiver at Salinas Valley Health spends time in a patient’s room. Sometimes that personal touch is delivered over the phone. The dedicated nurse receiving the latest nationally recognized DAISY Award exemplifies how passion and persistence delivered remotely can play a critical role in saving lives.

Brooke Robinson, RN, is a Transitional Care Coordinator for Disease Specific Care and first joined the Salinas Valley Health staff in March of 2015 serving in the Salinas Valley Health Susan Bacon Cancer Resource Center. She received the prestigious DAISY Award after being nominated by Melissa Dausen, RN, Director of Continuum of Care at Salinas Valley Health.

Dausen says Robinson goes above and beyond on a daily basis for patients and co-workers alike, however this recognition is based on a specific case in which Dausen credits Robinson for saving the life of a patient without permanent housing.

“In transitional care, a lot of what we do is by telephone,” says Dausen. “It makes it difficult sometimes to engage patients and get them to do what they need to do to be healthy. After a long stay, one of our patients discharged to isolate in a motel under county housing and was very resistant to participating in his own care, but Brooke persisted, eventually sending a transport team to the motel to bring the patient in for a follow-up appointment. I believe her actions saved the patient’s life.”

Robinson received the award during a ceremony at Salinas Valley Health Medical Center and says she and her colleagues understand every patient has different needs and sometimes her role as a patient advocate includes convincing a patient to act in their own best medical interest.

“We do everything we can to make sure our patients have all the information they need and feel supported when they leave our hospital,” says Robinson. “Sometimes that may mean an extra firm but compassionate push to keep the person on a healthy path. I’m proud to be part of an organization that prioritizes the continuum of care and recovery process for our patients.”

Dausen added, “In this case, if Brooke had not advocated for this patient, as she does all of her patients, he would have likely not survived. Brooke is an amazing nurse and deserves to be recognized for all that she does for our community of patients. We are so blessed to have her on our team.”

Salinas Valley Health has been participating in the national DAISY Award program since February 2015. Other Daisy Award nominees for the month include: Norma Coyazo, RN, Labor & Delivery; Jovita Dominguez, RN, OCU; Kimberly Jacobs, RN, Mother/Baby; and Deidre Shay, RN, Heart Center. Each month, Salinas Valley Memorial recognizes an outstanding employee with a STAR Award (for all staff) and a DAISY Award (specifically for nurses). Nomination forms and drop boxes are located throughout the medical center. To learn more about the awards visit Nurse Recognition | Salinas Valley Health.