Pictured with DAISY Award winner Bonnie Neumann are L to R, Kelsey Guthmiller, RN; Nicole Skattum, RN; Drew VanSanten, RN; Ken Westman, CEO; Carla Zupko, Chief Nursing Officer; Racheal Jacobson, RN; Amy Biever, RN; Wendy Franke, Chief Quality Officer; and Amelia Sample, Health Unit Coordinator.
Nurses at Riverwood Healthcare Center are being honored with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day.
The second DAISY Team award recipient is Bonnie Neumann, a registered nurse in Riverwood Healthcare Center’s Emergency Department. She has more than 20 years of nursing experience, most of it in emergency care.
Barbara Hite nominated Bonnie Neumann and shared these comments on her nomination form: “When receiving care for a heart condition for two nights in a row in the ER, Bonnie treated me like I was a very important person—like family. Because my care was during a Covid surge, my husband couldn’t be with me. I was in tears, feeling like I was going to die. She held my hand and helped me not feel so scared. I left the ER wishing Bonnie was going with me.”
Drew VanSanten, Riverwood Emergency Department manager, shared these comments about Bonnie:
“Bonnie is one of the most genuine, caring, fair and empathetic nurses with whom I have had the pleasure to work. The way she listens to and provides care to EVERY patient she sees is beyond admirable. I truly feel that Bonnie is a role model to all of us on how to be a great nurse.”
A long-time resident of the Jenkins area, Bonnie lives with her husband, John, and their four children. They have two children living at home, one child attending college in Salt Lake City, and one recently returned from an overseas deployment with the U.S. Army National Guard.
“On behalf of Riverwood, we are very pleased to recognize Bonnie as our second DAISY Award winner,” said Riverwood Chief Nursing Officer Carla Zupko. “We encourage patients to nominate other nurses who have delivered outstanding care for the DAISY award, which we give out once a quarter.”
Nomination forms are available in Riverwood’s clinic lobbies and included in inpatient packets. The form is also available for downloading at www.riverwoodhealthcare.org (click on News & Events, DAISY Award news release) or by contacting Michelle Gauthier at (218) 927-2121 or mgauthier@rwhealth.org
About the DAISY Award
The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, CA, and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of diopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. 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 their patients and patient families.
The DAISY Award and DAISY Team Award are initiatives of The DAISY Foundation in service to the nursing profession. Additionally, DAISY offers J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects, The DAISY Faculty Award to honor inspiring faculty members in schools and colleges of nursing, and The DAISY in Training Award for nursing students. More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org
