Three Nurses Receive DAISY Award at Avita Health System

BUCYRUS / GALION / ONTARIO – May 11, 2021 – Three registered nurses at Avita Health System are being honored with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses®. The award is part of The DAISY Foundation's mission to recognize nurses for the extraordinary, compassionate care they provide patients and families every day.

The 2021 DAISY Award recipients are Alexandria Brown of Galion Hospital, Bobbi Feichtner of Bucyrus Hospital, and Brett Dannemiller of Ontario Hospital. These three registered nurses (RN) go above and beyond to make a meaningful difference in the lives of many people.

Alexandria Brown, RN works in the Obstetrics Unit at Galion Hospital. She was nominated by a patient for her compassion and expertise during a labor and delivery. Said the nominator: “Alex was constantly observing, listened to not only my concerns, but answered any question I may have had. I suffered from a lot of anxiety during my pregnancy and labor due to a previous miscarriage and losing my mom in September. Alex made every single fear I had go away just by the way she would listen and react. Alex has to be the most caring and compassionate nurse I have ever come in contact with, and I pray she is recognized for that.”

Bobbi Feichtner, RN serves patients in the Intensive Care Unit at Bucyrus Hospital. She was nominated by a nurse manager for going above and beyond to provide comfort at the end of a patient’s life. The patient’s family had made the difficult decision to cease treatment for their loved one and were not going to be able to be by their bedside due to COVID-19. “Bobbi did not want this patient to pass alone and sat quietly by this patients side providing support during this time and did not leave their side until they passed,” explained the nominator. “Moments like this goes to show what a great nurse she is that she wanted to provide not only this patient comfort during this time but that the family knew that their loved one did not pass alone.”

Brett Dannemiller, RN works in the Intensive Care Unit at Ontario Hospital. He was nominated by a retired nurse for his kindness and expertise. According to the nominator: “I was intubated and it was a difficult experience, but the care I received was fantastic in the ICU. I am a retired nurse and worked as a director of nursing. I would hire any of the nurses that took care of me, because they were all wonderful, but Brett stood out. He was special. He is a young nurse, but he was extremely gentle and wise beyond his years. There are some people who are blessed by God to be where they are supposed to be. That is Brett!”

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System). 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 patients and their families.

Nurses may be nominated by patients, families, and colleagues by filling out a form online at avitahealth.org or at one of the three Avita hospital locations. The award recipients are anonymously chosen by a committee of Avita employees and community members. There is specific criteria and scoring for each nomination. Awards are presented twice annually at celebrations attended by the honoree’s colleagues, patients, and visitors.

At the award ceremonies, Ms. Brown, Ms. Feichtner, and Mr. Dannemiller each received a certificate commending them for extraordinary nursing. Each honoree was pinned with a special DAISY Award Pin and presented with a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, which is hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.

“2020 was the Year of Nurse. That is truly an understatement,” explained Kathy Durflinger, Chief Nursing Officer at Avita Health System. “There are no words that can describe how much we appreciate our nurses. They went above and beyond during a very stressful and scary time to a make a difference in the lives of our patients and families. All of our nurses stepped up and took on additional responsibilities to ensure our patients were cared for with professionalism and compassion. We are excited to

celebrate Alex, Bobbi, and Brett and blessed to have a team of amazing nurses at Avita!”


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