A trio of nurses from UnityPoint Health – Dubuque were recognized for their dedication to the profession with DAISY Awards for Extraordinary Nurses during a ceremony at Finley Hospital on Thursday, May 11 as part of UnityPoint Health’s celebration of National Nurses Week. The DAISY Award is a nationwide honor created by the family of Patrick Barnes as a way to remember their son and recognize the nurses who cared for him, not only for their clinical skills, but also for the kindness and compassion they showed to his family.
The DAISY Nurse Leader Award was presented to Carla Belken, RN, MSN, NVRN-BC, UnityPoint Health – Finley Hospital’s Vice President of Operations. Belken has been with Finley Hospital for nearly 36 years. She was promoted to her current role in December of 2022, after previously serving as Director of Education and Organizational Excellence.
Becca Thiltgen, RN, was awarded the DAISY Nurse Award. Thiltgen currently works in the 5th Floor Medical/Surgical unit of UnityPoint Health – Finley Hospital and has been with the organization since early 2020. Thiltgen received multiple nominations.
The DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Jan Pacholke, RN, in recognition of her distinguished career in nursing. Pacholke has worked at Finley Hospital for nearly 54 years and currently serves as a float nurse in the facility’s Access Center.
In other news from UnityPoint Health, The Sunshine Circle presented its latest donation to the hospital’s Family Birthing Suites on Wednesday, May 10. The gift consists of ten new anti-microbial bassinet cribs to be used by the Family Birthing Suites staff as they care for Finley’s youngest patients. The ten bassinets had a total cost of nearly $30,000 that was fully covered by the Sunshine Circle.
The bassinets provide a safe environment and are assigned to a baby even prior to their birth. The women who comprise the Sunshine Circle have been raising funds for UnityPoint Health – Finley Hospital since 1889…even prior to the hospital’s official founding! The all-volunteer group also organizes fundraising projects and events to help maintain important programs that ultimately benefit the entire Dubuque area.
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