Barton Hospital nurse Christy Yetter awarded quarterly DAISY award

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The DAISY Award for extraordinary nurses was awarded to Christy Yetter, a registered nurse with Barton’s Family Birthing Center. The award is in recognition of the clinical skill and compassionate care nurses provide to create a superior experience for patients and their families.

Yetter was nominated by Gina Locicero and her husband, who received her medical support through a recent childbirth experience at Barton Memorial Hospital.

“Christy got me through the hardest part of labor. She was so attentive, supportive, and compassionate. She made sure I was as comfortable as I could be,” said Gina Locicero. “In a time that felt so scary, she was calm and just made me feel like what I was going through was good and normal. My husband loved her too, and it meant a lot that he also had someone to make him feel comfortable. She guided me through my entire delivery, too. Then, after the baby was born she helped us so much!”

Labor and Delivery nurses have an important job of bringing new life safely into the world. Some primary responsibilities include monitoring vital signs, not only of the expectant mother, but the unborn baby as well, and assisting during labor. Nurses provide support, confidence, and encouragement throughout the process; the best nurses elevate the already memorable experience.

“[Yetter] was so patient as I learned to breastfeed. She answered many questions and gave me helpful tips,” said Locicero. “She goes above and beyond and puts her whole heart into what she does. I could have cried saying goodbye to her in the parking lot—she was just the best.”

Nurses may be nominated by patients and their families along with other staff and physicians, and the award recipient is chosen anonymously by a committee at Barton Health. As a winner of The DAISY Award, Yetter received a certificate, a DAISY Award pin, and a sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe. Awards are presented quarterly at celebrations often attended by the honoree’s colleagues, patients, and visitors.

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died in 1999 at age 33 from complications of an autoimmune disease (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System). The care Barnes and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses.

To learn more and nominate a nurse for The DAISY Award, visit BartonHealth.org/Daisy.