Remarkable Nurses Recognized With DAISY Award

1/27/2021

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Jan. 27, 2021) – Nurses make a significant impact in the lives of patients and their families. Lutheran Health Network (LHN) nurses go above and beyond to make a positive difference. The DAISY Award is one way to recognize exceptional care, compassion and dedication. Patients, families and colleagues may nominate nurses from any LHN hospital, urgent care clinic or Lutheran Health Physicians office for The DAISY Award.

The following stories highlight LHN’s most recent DAISY Award recipients:

Claire Cytlak, RN
Pre-Admission Testing Nurse
The Orthopedic Hospital
Claire is very caring and a tremendously hard worker who is dedicated to her fellow employees. Her compassion recently helped save a patient experiencing a dire medical circumstance due to dangerously low blood sugar levels and needed to be hospitalized for pancreatitis. Because Claire followed her instincts, she helped save the patient’s life.

Amanda Williams, RN
Charge Nurse
Rehabilitation Hospital
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Nursing isn’t easy, and manning a team of nurses as a charge nurse is a huge job. Amanda Williams, RN, brings support and knowledge to the nursing team. She is a constant example of compassion and exemplary nursing practice including mentoring and motivating staff. On many occasions, Amanda has gone above and beyond for her patients to care for them and uplift their spirits.

Rhonda Kuhn, RN
NICU Nurse
Dupont Hospital
Fort Wayne, Indiana
A patient nominated Rhonda Kuhn for the DAISY Award, providing the following comments: “Having your first child end up in the NICU can be a very frightening experience. Luckily, Rhonda cared for our daughter. Even when she wasn’t assigned to our daughter’s care, she would still check in to see how she was doing. She also made sure my wife and I were doing well. She took the time to get to know us and our daughter. Rhonda became someone we could trust and count on to set the standard of care for our daughter. Honestly, leaving the NICU is going to be hard knowing we won’t have Rhonda caring for our daughter.”

Rhonda Wetzel, RN
Med/Surg
Lutheran Hospital
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Rhonda was caring for a teenage patient whose mother is a single parent. Seeing that the mother was having a rough time, Rhonda went out of her way to anonymously purchase the supplies needed to help care for the patient’s injury. The mother and son were extremely grateful for this generous gift. Rhonda spent much time talking through life’s trials with the mother. She acted as a sounding board for the parent.

Sara Smart, RN
IV Team
Lutheran Hospital
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Sara Smart is not only a person that tells great stories, but she is a kind, loving person that lights up a room when she walks into it. She has often expressed how she loves taking care of patients. She enjoys conversations with them, she loves comforting them and she has even watched a ball game with a patient after her shift was over. Sara consistently shows empathy and compassion for her patients because of her own personal experiences. We are so grateful to have Sara on our team. She makes us laugh everyday and comes in with a great attitude; plus, she really is an awesome storyteller!

Veronica Rupel, RN
PACE Clinic Unit Nurse
Bluffton Regional Medical Center
Bluffton, Indiana
A patient nominated Veronica Rupel, RN, for the DAISY Award, providing the following comments: “Veronica made a surgery happen that may not have happened if she hadn’t gone the extra mile. Without her extra efforts and great attitude, I would not have been able to have surgery and I would have missed out on Dr. Almdale performing the surgery before his retirement.”

Here are the stories of our most recent Nurse Leader DAISY Award recipients:

Paula Calhoun, RN
Surgery Nurse Manager
Nurse Leader DAISY Award Winner
Kosciusko Community Hospital
Warsaw, Indiana
Paula Calhoun, RN is able to care for patients through every aspect of the perioperative process. She is an administratively savvy supervisor who facilitates patient safety and ensures that her patients are receiving highly reliable care by implementing safe high care throughout the department. She holds herself and her staff to the highest practice standards. Paula works until a resolution is in place to achieve goals. She mentors and grows her staff. She is undeterred under pressure. She drills into patients' needs until she discovers the main problem then resolves the issue. She makes genuine connections and truly pours her soul into each patient. Paula has the heart of a DAISY champion.

Sharon Charron, RN
Night Shift Coordinator
Nurse Leader DAISY Award Winner
Dupont Hospital
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Sharon has exceeded in her role for more than 16 years. She serves as a mentor to new employees and shares her wealth of knowledge by being an active member of the Education Committee and Buddy Program. Sharon is able to work side-by-side with nurses with direct patient care assignments and would never ask a team member to do anything she wouldn’t do herself. Sharon is always there to help with morale whether it is with kind words in a card or goodie bags for staff. Her positivity and optimism during the tough COVID times offer encouragement and serve as a reminder why, we as nurses, entered this profession. She is truly to be commended for her leadership skills and caring ways she exhibits to both patients and team members.

The DAISY Foundation™ is a not-for-profit organization established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes by members of his family. In late 1999, Patrick died at the age of 33 from complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon autoimmune disease. The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique way of thanking those professionals for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and their families.

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