The right nurse can make patients feel special, and holidays make that ability even more important. That’s why Jennifer Glass, RN, recently earned February’s Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses.

It was New Year’s Eve, and at about 11:45 p.m., a coworker noticed Glass pulling a chilled bottle of sparkling cider out of the unit refrigerator. He discovered Glass had brought it for her six patients, who were alone and hospitalized without their families on New Year’s Eve.

She went from room to room with the sparkling cider bottle tastefully in a champagne bucket with ice, and served the patients in elegant glasses.

She was working on a unit that faces the Salisbury Downtown, and was able to arrange her patients’ rooms so they could face the windows and see the fireworks at midnight.

She went above and beyond to show compassion, which brought a smile to the faces of her patients and helped them have a happy start to 2016.

Charity Holley

For a hospital to truly care for patients, the care has to extend beyond the walls of the medical center.

Charity Holley, RN, a care coordinator at Peninsula Regional Medical Center, earned March’s Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses for making a difference to a family as they were preparing for a loved one to leave PRMC.

The family wrote in to say:

“I wanted to let you know how wonderful Charity was to me and my family during and after the time my brother-in-law was a patient at Peninsula Regional Medical Center. She considered us every step of the way for his plan while he was at PRMC and then at hospice in Philadelphia.

“Her concern for all of us with each decision made us so comfortable with her caring ways. She was knowledgeable and took time to speak to each of us with any concerns we had.  She was gentle with his 88-year-old mother and shared many a hug with her.

“Charity knew what we needed and was there by our side for the whole process. We put a lot of pressure on her for the hospice transfer and she handled it with ease and professionalism.”

Judith Ebling

The best nurses put their hearts into their work along with their clinical knowledge. Sometimes, what a patient needs is a sympathetic listener who can help to put them at ease while also tending to their medical needs.

Judith Ebling of Peninsula Regional Medical Center’s Post-Anesthesia Care Unit brings her heart to work every day, and for that she has earned the Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses for April.

The nomination came from a patient, who said:

“I just had my third surgery for breast cancer. Every person involved in every procedure, test, and surgery has been wonderful. However, today Judy Ebling was awesome!

“She kept me warm and comfortable. She fed ice for my throat. Then, for some reason, I began crying; I babbled on about what I have been through. Today was the anniversary of one sister’s death from breast cancer and I told her all about that... on and on.

“She held my hand, wiped my tears, consoled me, and even teared up herself before all was said and done. She wheeled me to the outpatient recovery room, hugged and wished me well. I so appreciated Judy being by my bed. When I suggested she had other things to do, she said she was right where she needed to be. Judy was my angel today!”

For their exceptional care and compassion, all three nurses were honored with the Daisy Award in a ceremony before her colleagues, and received a certificate commending her for being an extraordinary nurse.

Their certificates read: “In deep appreciation of all you do, who you are, and the incredibly meaningful difference you make in the lives of so many people.”

Each nurse was also presented with fresh daisies on behalf of the Peninsula Regional Medical staff, and a sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.

To nominate an exceptional nurse, visit peninsula.org/DaisyAward and share a story.

The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in California and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes.

Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura, a little-known but not uncommon auto-immune disease.  The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.