Partner of Nursing Award Nominees-Front row: Phyllis Woodley, Public Health HOPES Family Support; Sam Borkowski, accepting the award on behalf of her mother, Tam Andre; Deana Shriver, Revenue Cycle Patient Access Representative; Ann Erickson, Interim Chief Nursing Officer. Back Row: CEO, Chad Butterfield; Jamie McDonald, Enhanced Referral Team Prior Authorization Supervisor; Anne Carstens, Public Health Clerk; Judy Murphy, Public Health Clerk; Sara Miller, Public Health Social Worker; and Jess Steinberg, Director of Nursing.
2023 Partner of Nursing (from left): CEO, Chad Butterfield; Interim Chief Nursing Officer, Ann Erickson, award winner, Tam Andre; and Director of Nursing, Jess Steinberg.
DAISY Award nominees-Front row: Erin Ackerson, Teresa Morlan, DAISY Award recipient, Terry Rottinghaus, Stacey Biggart and Deb Hoskins. Back row: Matt Gordon, Dan Scheuermann, Abby Skoglund, Noelle Clouse, Macie Hagen and Janey McCabe. Not present, Chelsie Thompson.
2023 DAISY Award (from left): CEO, Chad Butterfield, Interim Chief Nursing Officer, Ann Erickson, DAISY recipient, Terry Rottinghaus and Patient Experience Coordinator, Kristi Wilson.
JEFFERSON, Iowa – On May 10, Greene County Medical Center celebrated Hospital and Nurses Week with two special award ceremonies, one for nursing support Team Members and one for nurses from the Medical Center, the Family Medicine Clinic and Greene County Public Health.
“It is fitting that this ceremony is held during this special week,” said CEO, Chad Butterfield. “It is a way for us to shine a spotlight on the commitment, dedication, compassion and care our entire staff exhibits every day. Everything the nominees for the Partner of Nursing and DAISY Awards do exemplifies our service mission and our vision to be Always Here, Always Caring.”
The 2 p.m. ceremony opened with the Partner of Nursing Awards. This program was initiated in 2020 by the nursing staff to celebrate and honor those individuals who collaborate with them in the goal of creating the best possible outcomes for patients and their families.
Director of Nursing, Jess Steinberg and nurses from all three Medical Center organizations introduced the nominees for the Partner of Nursing Award: Tammy Andre, an Acute and ED patient care technician; Anne Carstens and Judy Murphy, Public Health clerks; Jamie McDonald, Enhanced Referral Team Prior Authorization supervisor; Sara Miller, a Public Health Social Worker’ Deana Shriver, a Revenue Cycle patient access representative; and Phyllis Woodley, support member for HOPES families.
“Without our Partners of Nursing, we would not be able to give patients the gold standard of care they deserve,” Steinberg said before introducing the 2023 Partner of Nursing, Tammy Andre. In Andre’s nomination, a colleague wrote, “She is always one step ahead of us. She acts before it is even asked of her. Tam is no stranger to rapid responses and codes and her strength and knowledge are often relied on in critical times. She consistently has the best interests of our patients and families at heart.”
The DAISY Award program followed, with 12 nurses nominated for their outstanding efforts to ensure every patient and their families receives care beyond their expectations. Diana Smith, a Doctor of Nursing Practice in the Family Medicine and Cosmetic Clinics welcomed attendees and congratulated all nominees. Interim Chief Nursing Officer, Ann Erickson and other members of the Greene County Medical Center Executive Team read from the nominations submitted for Erin Ackerson, Stacey Biggart, Noelle Clouse, Matt Gordon, Macie Hagen, Deb Hoskins, Janey McCabe, Teresa Morlan, Terry Rottinghaus, Dan Scheuermann, Abby Skoglund and Chelsie Thompson.
All of these nominations brought to light many touching stories of how the super-human work these nurses do impacts patients and their families, from staying after their shift ends, supporting injured and frightened patients, to being credited with saving lives because of their quick thinking, attentiveness and expertise. There were many tears shed by attendees as Erickson read from the DAISY Award winner’s nomination letter. “Compassionate, kind, commendable, calm, respectful and caring are just some of the words used to describe Terry [Rottinghaus]. She gave an amazing gift to a local family who was dealing with a wedding and a recent terminal diagnosis for the father of the bride. The family moved the wedding date up so the father could participate in all aspects of the day, and Terry didn’t hesitate for a moment. She volunteered to be there, on her own time, to help care for this patient, which allowed him the honor of walking his daughter down the aisle. She took time from her own family and life to be there, and she wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
All nominees were presented with flowers and certificates of recognition along with a pin for DAISY nominees. In addition, Andre and Rottinghaus received specially designed statuettes and Rottinghaus will be listed in the International DAISY registry.
For more information on how you can nominate a nurse for the DAISY Award, log on to gcmchealth.com and search DAISY.
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Greene County Medical Center | Always Here, Always Caring
About the DAISY Award: DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System and this international recognition program was initiated by the family of J. Patrick Barnes in 1999. Barnes died that year at the age of 33 from complications of the autoimmune disease, Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura. His family was amazed by the care Patrick and they received during his hospital stays and wanted to find a way to recognize all nurses who give so much of themselves in their daily work.