Evangelical Community Hospital Awards DAISY Honor for Nursing Excellence to Meghan Simmonds, RN

Meghan Simmonds, RN, was presented the DAISY Award on Tuesday, February 14, 2023. The award is presented to a deserving nurse who exemplifies clinical expertise and compassionate care and is recognized as a role model in the nursing community.

An employee of Evangelical Community Hospital’s obstetrics unit, The Family Place, since September 2014, Simmonds consistently provides excellent care for her patients. In the same time period, Simmonds was nominated by two different patients as they went through their birthing experiences under her watch. Both Lauren Smith and Kali Strohecker, an Evangelical employee and patient, nominated Simmonds and shared their experiences with the DAISY committee for award consideration. In recognition of her double nomination, Simmonds was presented the award along with a special multi-flowered-DAISY pin surrounded by her fellow coworkers, Hospital and Nursing leadership, as well as her husband.  

In the first nomination, Smith shared, “From the moment her shift started, Meghan’s treatment was beyond the call.”

Smith continued, “Meghan truly made me believe that I was capable of birthing a baby naturally. Her words were so intentional and inspiring, and she seemed to custom fit her approach to my needs and the needs of the midwife. My birth experience was made special because of her. Meghan’s excellence and care extended past birth, as she walked me through many big emotions and made me feel like the most fantastic mother for this child. Meghan is a superstar and I count myself lucky that I was able to be in her fantastic care.”

In Simmonds’ second nomination, Strohecker shared “Meghan was on top of our care and listened to any concerns I had.”

Strohecker continued, “She was so genuine the entire time! We talked about our kiddos and how much we both enjoy working at Evan! Around 8:15 pm they examined me again and noticed I progressed. I quickly called my husband once we knew that the c-section would be happening that night. Meghan made sure they weren’t going to start without my husband when anesthesia came in to wheel me down to the operating room. She made the promise to get him down there as soon as he arrived! Sure enough, she did! When Myles came out, he had some issues but between Meghan and Dr. Dino Baca I knew he was in amazing hands.”

The DAISY Foundation was established in 1999 in California by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at the age of 33 from complications of an auto-immune disease. During his eight-week hospital stay, his family was impressed by the care and compassion his nurses provided, not only to him but to everyone in the family. They created the DAISY Award in his memory to recognize those nurses who make a big difference in the lives of so many people.

Evangelical is proud to be a DAISY Award partner. Nurses are nominated by patients, family members of patients, as well as other healthcare professionals. Nominations are presented for consideration through a process of anonymity. The winner is then selected by a board of healthcare workers. Each DAISY Award Honoree is given a DAISY Award pin, a certificate of honor, a gift card from Service First Federal Credit Union, and a stone sculpture entitled, A Healer’s Touch, handcrafted by a tribe in Zimbabwe.

Nominations for the DAISY award can be made by patients, patient family members, colleagues, and providers. If an Evangelical Community Hospital nurse has displayed extraordinary clinical expertise and compassion, visit www.DAISYnomination.org/ECH and fill out a nomination form.