Evangelical Community Hospital Awards DAISY Honor for Nursing Excellence to Rebecca Fetzer, RN

Rebecca Fetzer, RN, was presented the DAISY Award on National Nurses Day, Friday, May 6, 2022. 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.

Fetzer, who has been an RN and a part of the Evangelical family of employees since October 1992, was surrounded by her nominators, fellow coworkers, mentors, Hospital and Nursing leadership, including her sister (also a nurse at Evangelical), as she was presented with the award. She was nominated for the award by Harold “JR” and Pam Erdley, Deb and Doug Navickas, and Patti and Rick Faux, the children and their spouses of patient, Laura Erdley.

In the nomination, the family shared, “Being a nurse by definition means loving to serve; taking care of patients as if they were your precious family member.”

The family continued sharing the story of their mother, who had been in failing health for a number of years but on Christmas Eve 2021 found herself hospitalized in a pandemic environment where visitation was limited. Fetzer was their mother’s nurse during her last day before passing, “One thing mom loved to do was talk and since we know Becky does as well, we can only imagine the last conversation. It was within an hour of their talk that we received the phone call that mom had passed. We had imagined that we would be there when the time came so we are forever grateful and can never repay Becky for the last conversation, the last physical comfort, the last tucking her in, and for caring for her in those last moments.”

Fetzer received her RN license in September 1981 and has spent most of her decades-long career at Evangelical. She has graciously cared for and served patients in Critical Care, on the Medical Unit, in the Surgical Unit, and most recently in her position as a nurse on the Orthopaedics Unit.

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.