Barton Health nurse recognized for exceptional care

Diana Meza Cabrera, registered nurse (RN) with Barton’s Surgical Services Department, was selected as a recipient of The DAISY Award for extraordinary nurses.

The award is in recognition of the clinical skill and compassionate care nurses provide to create a superior experience for patients and their families.

Meza Cabrera was nominated by Kimberley Real, mother of a patient and colleague of Meza Cabrera, whose experience inspired her nomination:

“My 13-year-old son was brought to the Emergency Department for abdominal pain and was found to have an inflamed gallbladder that required surgery. As a healthcare professional, I knew what this entailed but as a mom, I felt like my mind went blank.

Everything that I knew and studied went out the window in the moments he was wheeled to the preoperative area of the operating room (OR). My son, who is very strong and hardly winces at pain, was scared and tearful as they were about to take him to the OR.

This is where he was met by Diana. She stopped what she was doing, came over and provided him guidance, comfort, and compassion as they were about to head to the OR.

Diana assured me she would take care of him as if he was her own. She gave me a smile and her eyes assured me it would be ok; I could let him go as I knew she would be there for him. Later that evening, I asked my son how it went and he said that all he could remember was waking up and seeing Diana smiling and still there for him. I am grateful that Diana was there for him when I could not be there and kept her promise of taking care of him as if he were her child. Thank you, Diana, for being a caring, kind and compassionate nurse; you truly were the angel of my son's dream.”

OR nurses specialize in perioperative care for patients prior to, due
ing, and immediately after surgical procedures. A critical part of the surgical team, OR nurses have robust technical skills and strong interpersonal skills that inspire confidence and keep patients calm and comfortable.

Meza Cabrera grew up in South Lake Tahoe and has been a nurse for seven years; a childhood dream of hers. “I've always enjoyed helping others. It comes naturally to me; many members of my family are healers as well,” said Meza Cabrera. “I love serving my community, and being able to put my patients at ease during a scary and usually pretty vulnerable situation is
something I take great pride in.”

Nurses may be nominated by patients and their families along with other staff and physicians, and the award recipient is chosen anonymously by a committee at Barton Health. As a winner of The DAISY Award, Meza Cabrera received a certificate, a DAISY Award pin and a sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe. Awards are
presented quarterly at celebrations often attended by the honoree’s colleagues, patients, and visitors.

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died in 1999 at age 33 from complications of an autoimmune disease (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System). The care Barnes and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses.

To learn more and nominate a nurse for The DAISY Award, visit BartonHealth.org/Daisy.