Claudette Hill spends time with people on some of their worst days.

The registered nurse runs the case management department at Staten Island University Hospital. 

Patient care is just one of her duties. Turning bad days around is another.

"Tomorrow isn't promised for any of us. So every day you have to do something to cheer someone up," Hill said.

One small way she's doing this is through a "Day of Surprises."

Hill started the initiative in June – that’s when she and her team first surprised a terminally ill patient with a visit from Staten Island's own, rapper Method Man.

Another patient got the call of a lifetime from one of his favorite soccer players from Mexico. 

And most recently, Hill organized a baby shower for parents who had just had triplets, with two other small children already at home. 

"We had no idea we were having a baby shower. So to get all of that, to stock up a little bit, it's so nice. They gave us formula, they gave us clothes, it was so nice. It was just special," said Dana DiNaso, a Day of Surprises recipient.

The hospital helps support the weekly program. The formula and diapers were all donated. 

But Hill and her team often reach into their own pockets to make these days happen. She says the reward outweighs any cost.

"I'm so blessed to be in this position that I have. And if I can help someone else I can't look at the monetary part of it because I have everything I need on a daily basis. So these small little tokens that I'm giving people is so much of a bigger picture in the long run," Hill said.

It's a day of happiness she hopes will be felt for a lifetime.

"We have to treat patients the way we'd want our families to be treated so that's how I start every day. I say a prayer and I just ask God to guide me and I've been so blessed in my life and God has showed me so much grace that I'm able to give grace to other people," Hill said.

So, for brightening the days of hospital patients with moments they'll never forget, Claudette Hill is our New Yorker of the Week.