Egbert receives DAISY Award

Sherri Egbert’s kindness and nursing skills have earned her a coveted professional award.

Egbert, RN, and Emergency Department unit manager is the latest recipient of Bothwell Regional Health Center’s DAISY Award, which is given periodically to a deserving nurse who demonstrates compassionate patient- and family-centered care.

A patient visiting the Emergency Department nominated Egbert for her ability to provide calming support and genuine care in a time of need.

“Sherri had the best good vibes right off the bat, and I knew I would like her,” the patient said. “She took such good care of me and when I thought I was on my deathbed, her reassurance made me feel that I was going to be OK.”

Egbert knew at an early age she wanted to be a nurse and has spent more than 37 years working at Bothwell. After graduating high school, she worked at a nursing home where she earned her Certified Nurse Aide credential. She was encouraged to continue her health care education and enrolled in State Fair Community College’s Practical Nursing program and became a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN).

“When I started at Bothwell, I was an LPN in the float pool and spent many shifts in the ER,” Egbert said. “They liked my work, and I liked them. I think health care chose me, and I’ve been fortunate to have had the right people in my corner believe in me and steer me in the right direction.”

After a stint working at Family Medicine Associates while still working part-time in the ED, Egbert earned an associate degree in Nursing also from SFCC. She then returned full-time to the Emergency Department as a bedside nurse, charge nurse and became manager of the department in 2017. In her current role, she enjoys watching her team gain knowledge and use that knowledge to problem solve situations.

“It’s gratifying to watch them grow, be independent but remain humble enough to ask for help when they need it,” she said. “I believe in giving them the tools they need to do their job, providing current information about those tools and keeping up with their personal lives.”

The nominator said she not only appreciated Egbert’s bedside manner but her thoughtfulness

“I consider Sherri an angel from God,” the patient said. “After my time in the ED, I received a personal note from her expressing her concern for my daughter and grandson who weren’t in the hospital but who were also sick.”

Laura Weisenburger, Bothwell Nursing educator and recruiter presented Egbert with a certificate commending her for being an “Extraordinary Nurse.” She also received a DAISY Award pin and was treated to a box of cinnamon rolls. A DAISY Award banner recognizing her will hang in the Emergency Department and Egbert’s name will appear on the DAISY Foundation website.

“This award recognizes and celebrates nurses who provide extraordinary compassionate care to our patients and families,” she said. “It honors tender acts of human compassion, delivered in the actions, words and touches of the nurse. Sherri absolutely exemplifies all of this and more, and I couldn’t agree more with the nominator’s praise and gratitude for her.”

Egbert plans to retire later this year and is humbled by the recognition and award.

“It feels like the culmination of all my years of service and making connections with patients, trying to do the right thing when they feel their worst,” she said. “It’s especially important since as the manager, I’m not at the bedside as much. I am so grateful for my parents instilling a great work ethic in me, my husband and sons supporting me, all my mentors who’ve taught me over time, and the Bothwell team who believes in me.”

The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses was started in 1999 in Glen Ellen, California, by members of the family of Patrick Barnes, who died at the age of 33 of complications from an autoimmune disease. The care his nurses provided was the inspiration for the DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem) Award.

An international award, the DAISY is awarded in more than 2,800 health care facilities in all 50 states and 17 countries. Bothwell Regional Health Center began recognizing its nurses with the DAISY Award in 2018. Jessica Wheeler, Shari Thomasson, Shasta Nardi, Courtney Rumans, Sarah Plante, Connie Roll, Ronda McMullin and Sarah Fredrickson are previous recipients.