Deniel Elder, a weekend clinical team leader at St. Mary’s Hospital Emergency Department, has received St. Mary’s most recent systemwide DAISY Award for Nursing Excellence.

Elder was nominated by a patient who was brought to St. Mary’s by Emergency Medical Services with alarming symptoms. “My pacemaker was causing me to physically jump from my abdomen up. I felt like a nine-pound baby was kicking my liver every time my heart beat,” she wrote.

Working with the Emergency Department physician and in consultation with a representative of the pacemaker’s manufacturer, Elder took the lead on easing the patient’s discomfort. Nothing seemed to help. Drawing on experience from her long nursing career, Elder began to wonder if the lead (a thin wire) from the pacemaker to the patient’s heart was no longer in the right position. She elevated the possibility to the ED physician who studied x-rays to confirm her theory: the pacemaker lead was out of place. With this diagnosis, the patient was able to quickly receive corrective treatment.

“Due to Deniel’s tenacity to solve this problem, it happened,” the patient concludes. “Her experience and knowledge helped this very scared patient.”

“Deniel’s commitment to this patient on a busy holiday weekend is an example of the quality care she provides every time she comes to work,” said John Reeck, Emergency Department director. “This case is also a powerful demonstration of teamwork and how our nurses function as the eyes, ears and hands of our physicians to provide care to our patients.”

Elder, who lives in Pendergrass, has been part of the St. Mary’s team since 2006.