Long Branch, NJ, August 24, 2020 – The Monmouth Medical Center MC nurse who leads the hospital’s Infection Control Department and is described as “the backbone of MMC during the unforeseen Covid-19 pandemic,” has been honored with the DAISY Nurse Leader Award.
Carolyn Korotky, BSN, RN-BC, CIC, the Director of Infection Control for MMC, was nominated for the DAISY Award by her nursing colleagues and Infection Control Team, who praised her as epitomizing the “Heroes Work Here” tagline.
DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem. The DAISY Foundation was formed by the family of J. 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.
In nominating Carolyn for the award, her nursing colleagues and Infection Control Team wrote:
With more than 1,000 COVID-19 antibody tests largely coming back negative for staff, this is a huge testament to Carolyn and her implementation of spotters and cross-checking, which has kept our staff safe and supported our High Reliability Organization (HRO) mission.
As the Covid-19 pandemic began, there was a great deal of uncertainty and fear regarding contamination, exposure risk and the patient care that was required. “Heroes Work Here” epitomizes Carolyn’s level of collaboration and underscores her drive to protect the patient. Not only does Carolyn take the time to collaborate with all staff, but she ensures the infection control measures will work for the staff through collaboration.
Carolyn made it her duty to have complete transparency and open-door communication throughout the entire process. She personally attended change-of-shift safety huddles for the COVID-19 areas to answer all questions from the frontline staff, dispelling any fraction of uncertainty with her leadership and steadfast confidence. Carolyn was also an integral member of the Command Center, as nursing leadership relied upon her to guide directors on the protocols to keep their teams safe.
She goes above and beyond to help her fellow staff members and patients to the best of her ability. To help ensure the safety of the health care workers and patients, Carolyn stayed late nights to help the staff, voluntarily tests Covid-19 PUI without any hesitancy and give a lending hand whenever and wherever it’s needed.
Carolyn’s passion and drive to ensure the best patient care is provided enables her to collaborate with external and internal colleagues to accomplish a seamless transition into best practices in clinical care of all patients. Carolyn engages others around her and delegates key infection control principles to continue the quest for best practices for everyone throughout the organization.
By applying an interdisciplinary approach, Carolyn paved the way for an enhanced safety culture. Facilitating strong communication across disciplines allowed the staff and leadership team to stand as a united front against a debilitating pandemic, which heightened a feeling of togetherness and team orientation.
Carolyn has the ability to keep everyone “in the loop,” which is huge when dealing with a pandemic. By removing the middle man, she ensures staff has a solid understanding of infection control concepts. Carolyn has been heard over and over saying, “I just want to do the right thing and what’s right for the patient.” A leader is someone who does more than just “lead.”
A leader is driven by the right motivation and desire to carve out positivity and make an impact and has a vision for the betterment of her fellow staff and community at large and rallies those around her toward that vision. Carolyn’s motto always is: “I just want to keep everyone safe.” Her dedication, vision and collaboration truly embody MMC’s HRO journey.
During this pandemic, where there was so much uncertainty and fear – fear from the patients, the staff and their own loved ones at home – Carolyn was a beacon amidst the stormy shores. We are so blessed to have had her light the way. Carolyn is a true hero and very deserving of the DAISY Nurse Leader Award!
Carolyn was named Director of Infection Control at MMC in 2018, and previously served as an Infection Control Coordinator since 2010. During her tenure she has consistently demonstrated her expertise in infection prevention and regulatory standards.
CONTACT: Kathy Horan
(732) 546-6317
Kathy.Horan@rwjbh.org