By Tim Mastro

DOVER — Two Bayhealth nurses, Dianne Halpern and Christine Hess, were recently honored with DAISY Awards for their services.

Ms. Hess was recognized for an act of kindness for the family of one of her patients.

As a co-worker who nominated her for the prize shared, when the patient was put into comfort care at the end of his life, Ms. Hess was there for him.

“Christine was a key piece to the care that this man needed, not only for himself during his last days, but for his immediate loved ones as well,” she wrote in the nomination.

When the patient’s wife and their son came to visit him at the hospital, the nursing team noticed how the wife, who was deaf, and the patient would sign “I love you” to each other. Ms. Hess recalled how a Bayhealth labor and delivery team member made molded keepsakes for patients who experienced the loss of a newborn and reached out about a similar gift for this patient’s family. A mold of his hand was taken shortly after the family said their goodbyes.

“What made this even more special was that Christine was able to shape his hand into the sign language position for ‘I love you’ which he and his wife had used oh so often,” wrote Ms. Hess’ colleague. “The wife and son were so grateful for this gift from us. It touched our hearts that they were so appreciative and that we were able to give them something to remember him by. None of this would have been possible without the compassion and thoughtfulness of Christine.”

Ms. Halpern, a senior nurse manager at Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus in Dover, was named a DAISY nurse leader after being nominated by her peers.

“From the very beginning of my career, I admired how she led my interview with great confidence, knowledge and organization. Dianne has a magical way of being a kind and patient leader … while also being firm, direct and serious,” wrote the nurse who shared her experience, earning Ms. Halpern the award.

“She is the perfect picture of what I want to be as a nurse leader. She is tough and instills high standards, expects staff to meet and exceed those, a protector of her nurses, dedicated to her craft, holds her staff accountable, and is no nonsense when it comes to patient care,” continued the nominator, who is a coordinator supervising more than 40 staff members in four rural clinics.

“Every day I continue to pull from my invaluable experiences I gained from being under Dianne’s leadership. She pushed me, challenged me and supported me, because she knew that was what I needed to become the leader I am today,” she shared.

Ms. Halpern has been a nurse at Bayhealth for 36 years. Over the course of her career, she has worked as a staff registered nurse, as a manager of the intermediate care and intensive care units, as a case manager and as a nurse manager of a medical/surgical unit.

“I was very surprised, humbled and honored to be recognized,” she said when asked what it means to receive the DAISY Award.

The DAISY Awards are given by The DAISY Foundation, formed in 2000 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, who wanted to recognize the nurses who cared for him and all the other “unsung heroes” of the nursing profession.