SUBLETTE COUNTY – Nurses who work for the Sublette County Rural Health Care District (RHCD) gathered together last week to celebrate National Nurses Week. The Rural Health Foundation (RHF) caught wind of the gathering, also known as a “splint of nurses” and crashed the party to recognize the 2017 DAISY Award recipient.

The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses was named in honor of Patrick Barnes, a special patient who died of an auto-immune disease. DAISY stands for Disease Attacking the Immune System. Patrick’s parents were so impressed with the kindness and compassion their son received from his nurses during his last eight weeks, they formed a nonprofit in 1999 to honor nurses from nearly 2,000 organizations around the country.

DAISY nominations are accepted throughout the year using forms placed in the Pinedale and Marbleton clinics’ lobbies and posted on the RHF and RHCD websites. Amy Deeds, Vicky Marshall and Leslie Hagenstein were nominated this year. These dedicated professionals were described as being understanding and sympathetic, considerate and kind, having a positive approach to everything, being wonderful ambassadors with regional partners, providing quality care and being a wonderful friend.

The 2016 DAISY recipient Amanda Thomsen presented this year’s recipient to our second award recipient, Leslie Hagenstein. She was described by both patient and staff nominators as:

• Providing compassionate care in both the clinic and community settings.
• Having a lifelong commitment to learning.
• Providing competent and confidential care with everyone she serves.
• Consistently treating patients as partners in health care in a warm, sensitive and compassionate manner and providing care without discrimination.
• Demonstrating professionalism and advancement in the nursing profession.
• Being a role model to nurses in the community.
• Demonstrating her decades-long commitment to the health and well-being of everyone in Sublette County.
• Being the epitome of an extraordinary nurse!

The RHF is proud to be affiliated with the RHCD and cannot thank the nurses enough for the exceptional job they do for Sublette County every day.