Delta, CO (November 2, 2023) – Nine nurses at Delta Health were honored with nominations for The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses ® to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care they provide patients and families every single day.
The third quarter’s DAISY nominees were David Fry, RN, Laurie Brown, RN, Vallerie Bucani, RN, Jenna Regenfuss, RN, Amber Gillenwater, RN, Robert Imhoff, RN, Sierra Mathias, RN, and Jody Hyatt, RN.
The overall DAISY Award winner for the third quarter of 2023 was Jessica Walters, RN in the ICU. Jessica now works for the Quality Assurance department at Delta Health.
“My Dad was admitted to the ICU after experiencing chest pains overnight,” read Jessica’s nomination letter. “He is an active 77-year-old who rarely uses the healthcare system and he wasn’t feeling well, wasn’t himself and was being rather aggressive and disagreeable during much of his stay. We were fortunate to have Jessica Walters as his daytime nurse for four of the six days he was in the hospital. She was kind, approachable, and put my Dad at ease. She found ways to give him some control, while still making sure he was safe while the doctors treated him and figured out next steps.”
The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize nurses who go above and beyond in the care of their patients. Nurses may be nominated by patients, families, and colleagues, and the quarterly DAISY award recipient is chosen through a select Daisy Committee and DCMH’s T.E.A.M. M.A.S.H through a scoring rubric recognizing the nurses P.E.T.A.L.S., (Passion, Empathy, Trust, Admirable attributes, Love and Selflessness). Applications are blinded to these committees and scored. Awards are then presented four times throughout the year to celebrate the nominees.
“The DAISY Awards are a great tradition that we are proud to continue here at Delta Health,” said Dawn Arnett, RN, BSN, Director of In-Patient Services at Delta Health. “Each nominee is a model for what it means to provide compassionate, quality healthcare that our community trusts. They go above and beyond and we are honored to have the DAISY program where we can honor all of our amazing staff.”
The certificate that each honoree receives commends her or him as an “Extraordinary Nurse.” The certificate reads: “In deep appreciation of all you do, who you are, and the incredibly meaningful difference you make in the lives of so many people.” Honorees also receive a DAISY Award pin and a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.
To nominate a nurse for a DAISY Award, go online to deltahealthco.org/bee-daisy-awards/ and submit a digital nomination form. Nomination forms can also be found throughout the hospital.
