Angela Fichtner, a labor and delivery registered nurse at Lompoc Valley Medical Center (LVMC), has been named a recipient of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.
Fichtner was surprised with the award during her shift Tuesday, and was celebrated by members of the LVMC leadership team, her coworkers and the Daisy nomination committee, which includes a range of clinical and non-clinical staff.
The prestigious international award is part of The DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care provided to patients and families every day.
Fichtner, a 1995 Lompoc High School graduate, was nominated for being compassionate and caring to all her patients, but in particular for the way she treated a mother who experienced a fetal loss and was having great emotional difficulty.
According to the DAISY nomination, Fichtner went to a craft store after her shift, with the intention of making a keepsake for the mother.
“She filled a small teddy bear with rice the weight of the baby that passed, cut a ribbon that was the length of the baby and placed other mementos in a beautiful box for the family to cherish forever,” the nomination stated. “The patient clutched onto that bear for the rest of her stay, and as she was discharged from the unit, she hugged it tight as she left with tears in her eyes.”
Fichtner then donated supplies for any future patients who might experience a similar loss.
“Angela goes above and beyond each day to make these patients feel special and honored,” her nomination stated. “LVMC is so lucky to have her.”
Fichtner, who became a registered nurse in May 2017, said the DAISY award was “a huge honor. I did not expect it at all. It’s super sweet.”
Fichtner has worked at LVMC since October 2017, and has been assigned to the Labor, Delivery, Recovery and Postpartum Department her entire tenure.
“I only do what I feel is good for the patient,” she said. “We do a lot of loving on all our people.”
Fichtner said she wanted to provide the grieving patient with something tangible after her loss.
“I felt like people leaving [our unit] expect to take something home, and when they don’t get to do that, and to leave with nothing, it is so hard,” she said.
The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation was established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes by members of his family, and honors nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.
Patrick Barnes died in 1999 at the age of 33 from complications caused by ITP, or Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura, an auto-immune disease. DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.
The foundation was inspired by the care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill.
LVMC nominations are reviewed by an internal committee of representatives from nursing, non-nursing and non-clinical departments.
In addition to a certificate, Fichtner received a DAISY Award pin and a sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.
More information about the award is available at daisyfoundation.org. To nominate a nurse at LVMC, Lompoc Health or the Comprehensive Care Center, see the nomination form at lompocvmc.com, under the Resources tab and Patient Feedback link.