DAISY Award
Congratulations to Melissa Barbato
Melissa Barbato, RN, CCRN
Davis 10 PICU/PCICU
I came to UC Davis under the worst circumstances. My 19 month old daughter had drowned in our pool. I knew the moment I found her that she was not going to come back to me. Through all the time that was spent here every single staff member had been wonderful and compassionate. But one nurse definitely stood out. Melissa became our nurse a couple of days after we arrived and made the journey a little more bearable. We decided to make our daughter an organ donor and Melissa supported us through this process 110%. She knew what our outcome was going to be and made sure we made the most of it with pictures, molds, footprints, teddy bears, and locks of hair. She even got my husband more involved than I ever thought he would. And I think he will be happy he made these memories years down the road.
Melissa kept us going with laughter, tears and just letting us talk about our baby with her and helping us remember her in the best way. She was kind the whole way through; even my older 8 year old daughter loved her.
And if she couldn’t get any more amazing she came back on her day off at 5:00 am to walk us down to OR and even stayed through to organ procurement. She really is a one of a kind. And I am not just saying that because everyone thought we could be sisters.
Melissa really deserves this award 100 times over. As a nurse myself I know when you meet a good nurse/person and she is one of the best I have ever met and I will always remember her and she will always be connected with the last memories of my baby girl.
About the DAISY Award
The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses recognizes outstanding members of the nursing community and the very special work they do every day. It was established by the DAISY Foundation in memory of the extraordinary nursing J. Patrick Barnes received when he was hospitalized. (DAISY is an acronym for diseases attacking the immune system.) This nursing recognition award program offers patients, families, and professional colleagues a way to honor nurses for all they do. The DAISY awardees consistently demonstrate excellence through their clinical expertise and extraordinary compassionate care.