LONG BRANCH – With her everyday compassion positively impacting her patients, a Monmouth Medical Center oncology nurse has been honored with the quarterly DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.
Emma D’Ambrosa, BSN, RN-BC, is a bedside nurse on Monmouth’s Bernard Fromkin Oncology Unit. To best describe her nomination, a colleague said D’Ambrosa is “a nurse first and teacher second.”
She’s been a nurse at Monmouth Medical Center for five years, being the chairperson of the Medical-Surgical Shared Governance Council as well as the co-chairperson of the Patient Care Coordinating Council. In addition, she is a member of the Nursing Workplace Environment and Staffing Council as well as a mentor and preceptor to many new nurses.
“Emma shows her dedication to her patients by working on a professional level to improve the patient experience from within. Emma is always the person you can go to for help. She is non-judgmental and will go above and beyond to make sure you and your patient are well taken care of. As an oncology nurse, Emma uses her amazing compassion every day to make an impact on her patients. There have been many nights where Emma has gone above and beyond in patient care,” her colleague said.
D’Ambrosa outperformed her duty when she made a longtime hospice patient feel extra special. She created a “Spa Day” for the patient, giving her a hot water bed bath, brushing and putting her hair into braids and even painting her fingernails and toes her favorite color.
On top of being an excellent nurse, D’Ambrosa also is an amazing mentor. Every year she takes in multiple new graduate nurses and enjoys doing so.
“She puts passion into making sure the next generation of nurses is prepared and provides safe quality healthcare to all patients of BBR2. Emma is not one to brag about herself but is one of the most committed nurses at MMC, proven through her long list of committee work and amazing patient care. Emma is the most deserving of this award because she does everything but expects nothing,” her colleague added.
The DAISY Award, an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System, is a part of the DAISY Foundation. The Foundation was founded by the family of Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), an auto-immune disease.
His widow, Tena, (a DAISY Co-founder) created the acronym, and the Foundation and established the DAISY Recognition Program to honor the super-human work nurses do every day at the bedside.
