Evangelical Community Hospital Awards DAISY Honor for Nursing Excellence to Zaundra Stoltzfus, RN, BSN, CCRN

Zaundra Stoltzfus, RN, BSN, CCRN, was presented the DAISY Award on Thursday, August 18, 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.

Stotlzfus was nominated for the award by a coworker, Jennifer Miller, DHA, MSN, RN, NE-BC, CPHQ, Director of Specialty Services and Nursing Quality at Evangelical. She was presented the award surrounded by her fellow coworkers and Hospital and Nursing leadership.

In the nomination, Miller shared, “Nurses are extremely busy people. They frequently miss well deserved breaks and meals to provide reassurance, administer pain medication, or to meet the next need. Within all that busyness there are moments that can remind us all why we do what we do.”

Miller continued, “I looked out my office window and saw a patient being wheeled in a large chair. This patient had the look that many patients do when they have an NG tube coming out their nose... total defeat. I don't know his story, nor did I ask. The details really didn't matter to me. What mattered to me was this petite nurse pushing around this man and finding him the best possible place to enjoy the weather in the garden without the sun in his eyes. After she found just the right spot, she removed his black socks exposing his white feet to the sun. She gathered up some chairs and sat down next to him. The nursing intern that had been assigned to her that day followed close behind. I could overhear them all talking and at times even the rumble of laughter. An hour later I watched her push him past my window on the way back up to the unit. I am sure the compassion she showed this man made a difference but if not, she surely made a difference to me.”

Stoltzfus is familiar to Evangelical Community Hospital. She served as an Anesthesia Aide from May 2011 through June 2013 as an employee of the Hospital. She has since moved to agency/travel nursing and was at Evangelical as an agency RN from May through August 2022 in this capacity serving on the Critical Care 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.