May 16, 2023 Monmouth Medical Center OR Clinical Director Honored with Nursing Excellence Award

Kellie Graf is shown seated fifth from left with hospital leadership and her Perioperative Services’ Nursing Colleagues at her Daisy Award Presentation.

Long Branch, NJ, May 15th, 2023 – A member of Monmouth Medical Center’s (MMC) Perioperative Services leadership team who is praised her extraordinary dedication and leadership skills has been honored with the quarterly DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.

In nominating Perioperative Services nurse Kellie Kellie Graf MSN, RN, CPAN, Director of Clinical Care for Surgical Day Stay, Preadmission Testing and Pediatric Procedural Sedation, her colleagues submitted a nomination that included these comments:

  • Kellie is such a vital part of the Perioperative leadership team and organization. Her hard work, dedication, and leadership skills are extraordinary. She has such a positivity about her- she models this behavior for her team.
  • Kellie creates an environment of trust, compassion, mutual respect and continued professional behavior by including the staff in decision-making. She has built trust with her staff and demonstrates integrity, courage, fairness, respect, and inclusion. Over the years Kellie has also been the director of other areas such as PACU and has been a vital part of their success and still continues to be a valuable mentor for our newer leaders in those other areas.
  • Kellie shares her vision and also encourages the staff to give their feedback whenever possible. She creates this space of positivity and good communication between leadership and staff allowing the staff to feel supported and engaged in the work they are doing. Kellie is a great listener and her staff feel that. Kellie’s team speak very highly of her as a leader and recognize she is always there to support them.
  • Kellie is courteous, respectful, and communicates professionally to everyone she interacts with within the organization. She puts the safety of the patients first and promotes professionalism in all she does. It is an honor to work with Kellie and her dedication and commitment to her staff, peers, and this organization is unmatched.

DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The DAISY Foundation was formed 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.

Contact: Kathy Horan
(732) 546-6317
Kathy.Horan@rwjbh.org