DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses

The DAISY Award for Extraordinary NursesDAISY Award honorees personify Palmdale Regional Medical Center's remarkable patient experience. These nurses consistently demonstrate excellence through their clinical expertise and extraordinary compassionate care, and they are recognized as outstanding role models in our nursing community.

What is The DAISY Award?

The DAISY Award is a program that rewards and celebrates the extraordinary clinical skill and compassionate care given by nurses every day. PRMC is proud to be a DAISY Award Hospital Partner, recognizing one of our nurses with this special honor every month or quarter. To find out more about the program, including the growing list of Hospital Partners, please go to www.DAISYfoundation.org.

About The DAISY Foundation

The DAISY Foundation was established in 1999 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes who died of complications of the auto-immune disease Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (ITP) at the age of 33. (DAISY is an acronym for diseases attacking the immune system.) During Pat's eight week hospitalization, his family was awestruck by the care and compassion his nurses provided not only to Pat but to everyone in his family. So one of the goals they set in creating a Foundation in Pat's memory was to recognize extraordinary nurses everywhere who make an enormous difference in the lives of so many people by the super-human work they do everyday.

Patients, visitors, nurses, physicians, employees may nominate a deserving nurse by completing this form >

 

Current Recipients


Heather LeBlancHeather

Number of years working for PRMC: 9 years

Number of years in current specialty: 3 years in ICU, 6 years in Telemetry

What do you love most about nursing? I love being able to care for patients (and their families) during a time that might not be their best, hoping to provide for them comfort, reassurance, education, a hand to hold, a hug, a familiar smile. I could go on, but as long as you do what makes your heart happy then the rest all falls into line.

When you're not at work, what do you enjoy doing? When I'm not at work I enjoy spending time with my 3 boys, doing DIY projects, cooking/baking, riding my bike, going to the gym, weekend adventures and spending time with my friends and family.

Krystal

Number of years working for PRMC: 1 year

Number of years on current specialty: 2 ½ years in ICU

What do you love most about nursing? Seeing a positive outcome for my patients’ health

When you are not at work, what do you enjoy doing? Painting

 

Tori

Number of years working for PRMC: 24 years

Number of years on current specialty: almost 20 years

What do you love most about nursing? You can show someone the slightest kindness and it goes a long way when they are not feeling at their best. Also, as a Nurse there is so much opportunity that if you get tired of doing one specialty, you can have many opportunities for change to gain a new perspective.

When you are not at work, what do you enjoy doing? Spending time with my kids, watching crime shows; going to travel basketball games; overall just watching my teenagers thrive.

Anthony

Number of years working for PRMC: 3 Years

Number of years on current specialty: 1.5 years

What do you love most about nursing? I love being able to make a difference in peoples’ lives, whether it’s the patient or the family. Since a young age I remember always being in the ER with broken bones or other issues. I always appreciated the kindness shown towards me by the nurses. By becoming a nurse I’ve been able to give back the same kind-heartedness shown to me. The small things really matter when you are having the worst days of your life.

When you are not at work, what do you enjoy doing? Spending time with the family (12 year old daughter and 3 year old son). Also, when we get a free “date night” my wife and I usually enjoy playing a few rounds of Fortnite.


OR and AS Staff

Members of the Operating Room (OR) and Administrative Supervisor (AS) staff were nominated for The Daisy Award for their exceptional care during an emergency situation with a patient in flash pulmonary edema. Members of the staff worked frantically to stabilize the patient's respiratory status and completed multiple rounds of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) protocol. After 45 minutes and exhausting most of the medications in the crash cart, there was no improvement in the patient.

When the emergency room physician and primary surgeon went to speak with the patient's family, an OR technician discovered a weak pulse on the patient, who was no longer being ventilated. The staff returned to the OR and performed another round of CPR and ALCS protocol. They also gave the patient a medication for pulmonary hypertension. There was an immediate response and the flash pulmonary edema began to subside. The patient finally stabilized and was transported to the ICU.

After spending a few months in the ICU, the patient was transferred to a rehab facility and is now back to work!

Sherry Kapitzke and Kim Smith
The Daisy Award - Exceptional Care

 

Past Recipients

The Telemetry Unit

For the first time, the coveted DAISY Award has been given to an entire department: Telemetry! The Telemetry Unit was nominated for the staff's tireless efforts and constant caring of a special needs patient who visited the unit regularly over the past year, sometimes staying for weeks. As challenging as the situation sometimes became, the Telemetry Unit staff came through every time. At holidays, they even decorated the patient’s room and consistently went above and beyond their normal duties in many ways to ensure the patient felt as ‘at home’ as possible. As is the case with all of their patients, they strive to give the best possible care to every patient every time and especially to those patients who need that extra touch.

May Ronci

Number of years as RN: 4

Number of years working at Palmdale Regional: 4

Number of years on current specialty (ICU): 4

What do you love most about nursing: Being able to make a difference not only for patients, but family members as well.

When you are not at work, what do you enjoy doing: I love to hike. I go to the gym in the morning before work. I love Disneyland — “the happiest place on earth” especially — and my friends and my daughter.

Donna Singledecker

Number of years as RN: 23

Number of years working at Palmdale Regional: 3.5

Number of years on current specialty (Tele): 16

What do you love most about nursing: One thing that I love most about nursing is interacting with patients and families. Sometimes it can be a challenge finding ways to get through to them, but I have always enjoyed developing that relationship and hearing them say at the end of the day, “you have been a wonderful nurse, thank you.”

When you are not at work, what do you enjoy doing: I enjoy spending time with my family and doing fun things together like going to the beach in the summertime and skiing in the winter time.