Josephine Falvey’s fast response saves a life at hospital entrance

Josephine Falvey, BSN, CCRN in the PACU, received a DAISY Award, for her quick actions that saved a patient’s life.

The DAISY Award is part of The DAISY Foundation, an international program dedicated to recognizing nursing excellence. Established by the Barnes family in memory of their son, Patrick, the award honors the exceptional, compassionate care Patrick received from nurses during his eight-week hospitalization. To express their gratitude, the family created the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, celebrating the remarkable and often unsung work nurses perform every day at the bedside.

Josephine’s nomination reads:

“Josephine Falvey was on her way to work in the PACU Saturday November 2nd arriving at the front of the hospital on her bike. As she parked her bike, she noticed a gentleman walking toward the entrance of the hospital who appeared to be in distress. As Jo walked towards him, he collapsed, throwing his coffee to the ground. At first Jo thought he was throwing his coffee at her, but she quickly recognized that he was having a medical emergency.

“With her bike helmet on and her backpack in tow, she approached the gentleman and performed a quick assessment. Her assessment revealed that the man was in cardiac arrest, and she immediately began CPR in the entryway of the hospital. She was also able to call on a bystander to go to the guest relations desk and ask that a code blue be called. The code blue team from the Emergency Department arrived and the patient resuscitation efforts continued.

“The gentleman was taken to the ED where he survived his cardiac arrest and was later transferred to the ICU pending further cardiac interventions. Emergency providers are crediting Jo’s fast response in starting CPR and getting this gentleman to the ED alive to his survival.

“The patient’s family arrived at the hospital and wanted to meet Jo to thank her. Their gratitude for her actions was unsurpassed and her actions saved a father and husband - the family continues to express their gratitude and thanks for Jo’s quick action and ability to identify and address his emergent need in the hospital entrance that day. Josephine stayed calm and managed an extremely serious situation, in a difficult environment with great poise and professionalism.

“Josephine is a seasoned Critical Care RN who has worked in the PACU for the 2 past years. Her PACU family all know her as a skilled and caring RN, as well as a kind and patient person. We recognize, appreciate and applaud her wonderful actions in saving this gentleman’s life.

We send Jo our gratitude for her actions and want to recognize the difference she made in saving a life.”

Congratulations, Josephine, on your DAISY Award!