At Shearwater Health, we are blessed to have a team of amazing nurses from all around the world who make an impact daily. While we are proud of each one of our nurses, it’s always a special feeling when one receives recognition for their passion and efforts in caring for others. We’re excited to announce that one of our nurses, Jonah Aquino, was selected as a recipient of the Daisy Award. The Daisy Award is a program established in 1999 to honor the super-human work nurses do for patients and families every day. Nurses are nominated by anyone in the healthcare organization- patients, family members, nurses, physicians, clinicians, and staff. Her own patient nominated Jonah for the award, and we’re honored to share a bit more about her story.
Jonah joined the nursing profession in 2008 in the Philippines. After working in the PICU for four years, she felt the call to start her nursing journey overseas and relocated to Saudi Arabia to work in the NICU pediatric ward. However, she describes this period as a time of struggle for her, “There were a lot of struggles, both culturally and professionally, plus leaving my comfort zone and family. I was blessed with an amazing roommate who taught me Arabic; she’s still my best friend to this day. There was a lot of struggle and hardship before I settled here. I managed to learn the language and improve my skills. I told myself I wouldn’t quit and finish my contract. Everything happens for a reason; if not for those experiences, I wouldn’t be as tough as I am right now. By working overseas, I discovered myself and knew I could adjust and be resilient.” After completing her contract in Saudi Arabia, she relocated to Dubai, where she worked for seven years as a pediatric nurse. After meeting a friend who worked with Shearwater, Jonah decided to take the leap and move to America, “When Shearwater matched me to a client hospital, they said it’d be an adult surgical unit. It was a combo of everything I’ve handled so far- I challenged myself and went for it. If you have two choices, choose the one that scares you because that’s where you grow.”
In this client hospital, Jonah met the patient who nominated her for the award. Her patient was suffering from chronic pain, and Jonah went the extra mile to ensure she had the proper care needed, “I stayed by her side trying to comfort and console her, giving her measures to help her. But talking to her, verbalizing how she is feeling, and reassuring her that I am advocating and willing to help her. It’s a regular routine; it’s nothing special- we feel for our patients.” Jonah was able to get in touch with the patient’s doctor and adjust her treatment plan to meet her needs. When asked what receiving this award means to her, Jonah gave the following response, “I think it’s just the icing on the cake; I feel rewarded even without an award. Every time my patient is discharged from the hospital and has gotten better, and I contribute to them resuming their own life, I think that’s the most rewarding thing ever.”
This award is a significant achievement, and we are thrilled for Jonah, who has been with Shearwater for almost two years. Her dedication to the nursing profession and her patients is inspiring and aligns with our Mission to “improve healthcare outcomes globally.” Congratulations to Jonah and thank you for all your hard work!
About Shearwater Health
Because of a shortage of clinicians, it’s often difficult to scale healthcare organizations. Shearwater Health provides teams of remote and onsite clinicians that expand the size and impact of clinical teams so that clients can focus on internal teams practicing at the peak of their license. From bedside to back-office, there are over 4,000 Shearwater clinicians solving medical and administrative problems every hour of every day all over the world. Shearwater combines clinical expertise with Six sigma process excellence and RPA technology to improve healthcare outcomes.
