UPMC Muncy Nurse Recognized With DAISY Award

January 31, 2024

MUNCY, Pa. – Cheryl Hopple, RN, Emergency Department, UPMC Muncy, was recently recognized as a recipient of the DAISY Award® for Extraordinary Nurses.

Hopple was nominated by a co-worker who shared:

“Recently, I was able to observe Cheryl interact with a patient. He was a young man with mild intellectual disability. He initially presented with an abdominal abscess and underwent a procedure for treatment. Six days later, he presented back to the Emergency Department (ED) with increasing signs/symptoms, and the ED physician had to extend the incision site from the previous procedure for treatment. Cheryl comforted him and held his hand while the incision was being performed. After the procedure was completed, she ensured that the patient was given proper instructions on dressing changes. She even wrote the step-by-step instructions so that the patient could properly understand. As the patient had no doctor for follow-up, he was instructed to return to the ED in four days. Two days after the procedure, Cheryl contacted the patient by phone to question how he was doing and to ensure there were no signs/symptoms of infection. On day four, the patient returned to the ED as requested for follow-up. Once again, Cheryl was there to comfort the patient. As the patient had no health insurance, this also caused emotional distress to the patient, and Cheryl connected him with social services resources. Cheryl's display of caring and providing comfort to this patient, provision of knowledge-based education, advocating for the patient, and phone call follow-up exemplify the nursing skills that she provides to each and every patient.”

The DAISY Foundation was established in 1999 in California by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at the age of 33 from complications of an auto-immune disease. During his eight-week hospital stay, his family was impressed by the care and compassion his nurses provided, not only to him but to everyone in the family. They created the DAISY Award in his memory to recognize those nurses who make a big difference in the lives of so many people.

UPMC is proud to be a DAISY Award partner. Nurses are nominated by patients, family members of patients, as well as other healthcare professionals. DAISY Awards are presented to nurses at UPMC in North Central Pa. monthly. Each DAISY Award Honoree is given a DAISY Award pin, a certificate of honor, and a stone sculpture entitled, A Healer’s Touch, handcrafted by a tribe in Zimbabwe. Anyone can nominate a nurse for the award including co-workers, patients, patient family members, or physicians. To nominate a nurse, visit UPMC.com/ThankaNurse.