Three nurses, two licensed nursing assistants (LNAs) and one licensed practical nurse (LPN) at Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC), a member of Dartmouth Health, were recently recognized for providing extraordinary patient care with DAISY Awards by the DAISY Foundation, an international organization founded to celebrate nurses. The hospital also awarded some of these outstanding nurses with a PETALS Award, which stands for ‘Professional Extraordinaires That Always Lend Support.’
“The recognition of our nurses and assistants with DAISY and PETALS Awards is well earned. Thanks to their dedication and compassion, Mt. Ascutney is perennially ranked among the highest in Vermont for patient experience,” said Winfield Brown, interim president and CEO of MAHHC. “We are grateful for the exceptional care they deliver every day and the positive impacts they have on our community.”
The DAISY Committee at MAHHC, which scores blinded nominations and selects winners, awarded Kimberly Rich, RN, CAPA, the DAISY Nurse Leader Award. As a clinical supervisor in the surgical services department, Rich supports the staff, provides exceptional care to patients and provides educational opportunities for fellow nurses.
Nurses Lily Burke, RN and Ruth Doiron, RN, also received DAISY Awards. Burke is known not only for her patient care but the comfort she gives to patients’ loved ones, by showing compassion and sharing her deep knowledge of her practice. Doiron is an acute care nurse recognized for regularly stepping up to help her fellow nurses, attentiveness to patient needs and empathy.
“I am immensely proud of the nursing and assistant staff who repeatedly prove they’re the best at what they do,” said Amy Visser-Lynch, MSN, RN, CENP and MAHHC’s chief nursing officer. “We appreciate them and everything they do for the community they serve. These awards are each well-deserved.”
The hospital also awarded PETALS Awards to Katherine Flynn, LNA, Elaine Nestor, LNA, and Brianna Henault, LPN.
About the DAISY Award
The DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Award is an international program that celebrates the skillful, compassionate care nurses provide every day. Members of the nursing professional development and recognition council review DAISY Award nominations and select the winners.
The DAISY Foundation was established by the family of J. Patrick Barnes after he died from complications of the auto-immune disease Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (ITP) in 1999. During Pat’s hospitalization, the family deeply appreciated the care and compassion shown by the nurses. When Pat died, the family felt compelled to say “thank you” to nurses in a very public way, and they established The DAISY Award in his honor.
About the PETALS Award
The PETALS (Professional Extraordinaires That Always Lend Support) Award honor those who partner with nurses to provide exceptional care, including LPNs, LNAs, and CMAs.
About Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center
Founded in 1933, Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC) is a not-for-profit community hospital network in Vermont, including the critical access-designated Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Historic Homes of Runnemede, a senior residential care campus in Windsor, as well as the Ottauquechee Health Center in Woodstock. A member of the Dartmouth Health system, MAHHC provides primary care and a comprehensive suite of specialty services, along with 25 inpatient beds, a therapeutic pool and an acclaimed, fully modernized 10-bed Acute Rehabilitation Center. Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center is dedicated to improving the lives of those it serves and is at the hub of a wide network of community resources that have partnered to cover gaps in services and improve overall population health. One of the largest employers in the area, MAHHC acknowledges its employees as its greatest asset and has been recognized by the Governor's Office with an Excellence in Worksite Wellness award.
Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), is a recent recipient of Best Practice recognition by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) for health care quality, and is recognized by the American Hospital Association (AHA) as one of the "Most Wired" hospitals for integration of technology to boost clinical performance. The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has awarded MAHHC with Level 3 status, the highest level of medical home designation.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire's only academic health system and the state's largest private employer, serves patients across northern New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,000 providers in almost every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH, as well as across its wide network of hospitals, clinics and care facilities. DHMC is consistently named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, one of only 54 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation, and the only such center in northern New England; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, the state’s only children’s hospital, and multiple clinic locations around the region; member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene and New London, NH, and Bennington and Windsor, VT; Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire; and more than 24 clinics that provide ambulatory services across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its historical partnership with Dartmouth and the Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually, and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials recognized across the globe with Geisel and the White River Junction VA Medical Center in White River Junction, VT. Dartmouth Health and its more than 13,000 employees are deeply committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in our communities, and to providing each of our patients with exceptional, personal care.