UP Health System – Marquette Nurse Christina Hanson, RN, Honored with DAISY Award

UP Health System – Marquette is proud to honor Christina Hanson, RN, with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses®. The award is given out every quarter and is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care provided to patients and families every day. 

Christina is a nurse in our Cardiac Unit, where she provides specialized care for patients who have serious, acute or unstable heart conditions. Patients in this unit require very close monitoring, and Christina rises to that challenge every shift. She is known for going above and beyond for her patients, which is evident in the nomination she received for this award below:

"I was transferred to Marquette after an abnormal stress test result. It was close to Christmas, I was pretty much alone—and scared. I tried not to show it and tried to never bother the very busy nurses, so I did not put on my light unless my IVs were beeping. Christina came in often anyway to make sure I was doing well. She sensed my anxiety, I think. The night after my procedure there was a minor issue with the catheter entry point and bleeding. Christina noticed—she took charge. She stayed with me 45 minutes past her shift to make sure I was ok. That sort of attention is priceless to the patient, and I appreciate it greatly since I am sure she had friends and family and Christmas of her own to attend to. She was kind, caring, empathetic, professional, thorough, communicative, and the very vision of what we all expect of the nursing profession and beyond. She is awesome and she should know it. Even though she will say she was just doing her job, she did it over and above, she did it for me, and I am eternally grateful—and I know not everyone is or shows that they are grateful to the wonderful nurses who have been stretched and stressed so thin these last few years."

— Patient Matthew

UP Health System – Marquette would like to also recognize the entire team of nurses who were nominated for the DAISY award this quarter:

• Nykole Fitzgibbon, RN, Staffing Pool
• Jessica Chaperon, RN, Family Birthing Center
• Melissa Anderson, RN, NICU
• Jayda Johnson, RN, NICU
• Makayla Grange, RN, NICU
• Olivia Flemming, RN, Family Birthing Center
• Lindsey Rabitaille, RN, Family Birthing Center
• Erin Pace-Lacar, RN, NICU
• Danielle Jacobetti, RN, NICU
• Jamie Skewis, RN, NICU
• Cayla Kent, RN, Neuro/Ortho/Peds
• Danielle Sandstrom, NP, Palliative Care
• Krista Fuller, RN, ICU
• Lise Plis, LPN, Respiratory Medicine
• Sara Uravich, RN, NICU
• Kayleigh Balinski, RN, Med-Surg
• Toshi Tanaka, RN, Staffing Pool

Patients, families, and colleagues may nominate nurses. Nominations are reviewed by a committee at UP Health System – Marquette, which then selects the winner. Awards are presented throughout the year at celebrations attended by the honoree’s colleagues, patients, friends, and family.  Each honoree receives a certificate commending them that reads, “In deep appreciation of all you do, who you are, and the incredibly meaningful difference you make in the lives of so many people.” Honorees also receive a DAISY Award pin and a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.

Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, chief executive officer and co-founder of The DAISY Foundation said, “When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide patients every day and night. Yet these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for their super-human, extraordinary, compassionate work. The kind of work the nurses at UP Health System – Marquette are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of the DAISY Award.”

"One of our top priorities is making sure our nurses know how valued and appreciated they are for the incredible, lifesaving care they provide every day," stated Christine Stryker, MBA, MSN, RN, chief nursing officer, UP Health System-Marquette. "The DAISY Award is one way we do that, and we are proud to participate in the program, as we are proud of all our nursing staff."

In addition to the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, the Foundation expresses gratitude to the nursing profession internationally in over 3,900 healthcare facilities and schools of nursing with recognition of direct care nurses, nurse-led teams, nurse leaders, nursing faculty, and nursing students, through the J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects and nurses participating in medical missions.

To nominate an extraordinary nurse for the DAISY Award, visit our website. For more information on the DAISY Award, please visit the DAISY Foundation website.