Current Daisy Winner

Shelly Castle, RN (4 West), is the newest ‘DAISY’ – having won the coveted DAISY Award for excellence in nursing.

The DAISY Award is a national honor given each month to one of our deserving nurses – along with nurses in 232 other hospitals across the country.

One of Shelly’s co-workers wrote these words about her:

“When I tried to think of an example [of this nurse’s superhuman work], and even when I asked other nurses, we were all stumped because there are just too many examples to narrow it down to just one. 

The reaction I got from most, including myself, is that everything Shelly does here is ‘super-human work.’ She is a perfect example of a patient advocate, she’s an excellent resource and so knowledgeable, and she is always thinking about the big picture.

“She always puts her patients first and will always fight for what is best for them.  As a new nurse, I would always look to Shelly as a role model, and being the team player that she is, she was always so willing to help.

“One example I can think of is of one of our patients whose mom rarely visited and he was often all alone. His favorite thing to do was to walk through the halls and look out the big window by the conference room. Every night that Shelly would have him, she would somehow magically get all the work done for her other patients and block off time to walk with the patient and spend time with him. On nights that he would cry because he wanted to be rocked to sleep, Shelly would hold him until her arm would fall asleep. This is a very common example of how Shelly goes out of her way for the patients. She genuinely cares for each and every one of them, and always manages to give each of them 110 percent of her efforts.

“The special thing about Shelly, if that hasn’t been enough, is that she does it all so quietly, never asking for attention or praise. We call her ‘Sweet Shelly,’ because she truly is. She is like an angel personified. The world would truly be a better place if there were more Shellys to spread all the kindness, selflessness and advocacy for others that she does on a daily basis. I know I speak for everyone on 4 West when I say that we feel truly blessed to work with her.”