Great River Health awarded their first DAISY Awards for Extraordinary Nurses® of 2026. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care nurses provide patients and families every day.
The latest Great River Health DAISY Award recipients are:
- Angela Hollingsworth, RN, works as a Case Manager for the Southeast Iowa Regional Home Health & Hospice team. Nominated by a hospice patient’s husband, Angela helped create one last meaningful surprise for his wife. This patient had been bedridden for several years, is nonverbal, and has limited eyesight. Though she was not the assigned hospice nurse, Angela learned of the patient’s lifelong love for horses and knew she had to bring her pony for a visit. Angela led her pony into the patient’s living room, where the horse gently rested its nose on the patient’s hand. Angela helped the patient touch the pony and talked quietly to her. The family watched as the patient’s face lit up, a silent, beautiful moment filled with meaning. The patient’s husband shared, “I just want to thank Angela for this special time.”
- Senitra Howard, is a Registered Nurse on the Medical Care Unit (MCU) at Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center, West Burlington, Becky, a patient on MCU, complained of a heavy feeling in her chest, and Senitra came in to evaluate her. Becky thought it was her bra putting pressure on her chest, but she was not wearing a bra, causing Senitra concern. She wanted to contact Becky’s doctor for further assessment, but Becky was not concerned and just wanted to go to sleep. Senitra persisted and asked to at least talk with Becky’s daughter. Becky said Senitra knew she was scared and stayed with her until her son and daughter arrived. Becky ended up getting a stent placed because of a heart attack! Becky said she cannot thank Senitra enough for what she did to help her. Becky expressed these sentiments, “Please let my Senitra know I love her! God, love her-she was my angel!” Becky added that all the nurses who took care of her have been “absolutely wonderful!” Keeping a sense of humor is really important to Becky, and they all let her joke with them, “One cannot lose her sense of humor because sometimes it is hard to accept reality without humor to go along with it.”
A committee at Great River Health chooses the award recipients to receive The DAISY Award. Angela and Senitra were honored at a special Daisy Award ceremony in their departments, attended by the Honoree’s colleagues, patients, and visitors. Each Honoree received a certificate commending her as an “Extraordinary Nurse.” The certificate 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 received 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. The Great River Health Daisy Award recipients will be featured on the Daisy Foundation website along with recipients from around the world.
Nurses may be nominated by patients, families, and colleagues on an ongoing basis.
Great River Health employs over 815 nurses, providing patient care at their Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center – Fort Madison and West Burlington – campuses; along with Henry County Health Center in Mount Pleasant.
More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org.