Hershey Medical Center honors DAISY Award winners, Haas, Nye, Strine

Top left, Theresa Strine, staff nurse, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, center, celebrates her DAISY Award with colleagues and leaders. Bottom left, Jess Haas, staff nurse, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, celebrates her DAISY Award with colleagues and nurse leaders. Right, Marissa Nye, staff nurse, Float Pool, right, celebrates her DAISY Award with Hershey Medical Center Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Michele Szkolnicki.

Hershey Medical Center presented its quarterly DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Award for Extraordinary Nurses to Jess Haas, a staff nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU); Marissa Nye, a staff nurse in the Float Pool; and Theresa Strine, a staff nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

A new mother of premature twins nominated Haas. “I could go on and on about Jess and how she made us feel safe and comforted even as terrified first-time parents with twins in the NICU,” she said. “I think there is something major to say about a nurse who not only takes amazing care of her patients but also her patients’ families. We felt so blessed to have her with them all,” she wrote.

Nye was nominated by a patient who had a long stay in the Neuro-Critical Care Unit. “Marissa constantly advocated for my well-being, explained everything to me and my family so well, and in a way where we could understand it,” the patient said. “She’s not only an amazing nurse. She’s an amazing human being who is truly kind and wants the best for her patients.”

A clinical staff leader nominated Strine for the award, recognizing her for “the support, compassion and guidance that she recently provided to two families in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.” Strine helped the first patient’s family through multiple resuscitation efforts and difficult discussions about their options. Strine supported another patient and family, guiding them through end of life options and the organ donation process, including an honor walk. “Theresa made a significant impact on both families as they had to navigate the unexpected and traumatic experience of losing a child,” her nominator wrote.

The DAISY Award recognizes nurses for their skillful, compassionate care and their daily support of patients and families. Find more information here.

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