Sara Nestor, RN and OB Coordinator at Clark Fork Valley Hospital (CFVH), was surprised and honored with The DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses at a reception that was held for her at CFVH on last month. Homemade cinnamon rolls were served to Nestor and her surprise guests of family members and co-workers on February 23. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s programs to recognize "the super-human efforts nurses perform every day."

Nestor began working for CFVH as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) in 2012. Since then, she earned her nursing degree to become an RN and has continued to build on her skill and knowledge base in nursing by taking advantage of a number of advanced training opportunities. “As a mom and nurse, I realize the tremendous responsibility I hold in providing quality care here at CFVH. It is such a privilege," she stated.

Nestor delivered both of her children at CFVH and was instrumental in working towards the hospital’s Baby Friendly Designation in 2019. “My own delivery experiences were the best I could have hoped for and to see us work towards even higher standards of care moving forward is so exciting," she shared.

“Sara has been instrumental to our nursing team and I am honored to call her my friend and co-worker. She puts her whole heart into everything she does and she has touched so many lives in our community,” said Danita Grossberg, RN and Acute Care/ED Manager at CFVH.

Nestor has been recognized for a number of her contributions over the last few years, including being chosen as CFVH’s 2019 Employee of the Year.

As Lisa Eberhardt, Chief Nursing Officer pointed out at the reception, “Many of the nurses who receive this award feel like they are just doing their job and don’t deserve such recognition.” With great pride, Eberhardt explained exactly why Nestor’s contributions were worth recognizing and how they reflected the amazing and meaningful way Nestor cares for her patients each and every day.

The award nomination submitted read in part:

"I spent 5 months at Clark Fork Valley Hospital and had the opportunity to meet a lot of amazing people. However, the care certain nurses provided went above and beyond. One of these nurses was Sara Nestor. Sara went out of her way to try and help me deal with the emotions and mental health aspects of being in the hospital so long and not be able to visualize a positive future based on my circumstances. I struggled many days with anxiety and depression, but Sara took the time to check in on me even when she wasn’t my nurse or when she was just stopping by the hospital on her days off for trainings. She always tried to get me to focus on what was within my control, rather than being anxious or depressed about things I could do nothing about. She developed a goal board for me that became a positive motivation for my time there. She also helped me create a vision board that consisted of things I still want to do or achieve in the future. She often found fun activities for me to participate in and shared the joy of gift wrapping during Christmas time. She did so many other little things that it’s impossible to list them all. She made it obvious that she truly cared about me and I looked forward to seeing her every day! Sara is highly skilled and has many responsibilities within the hospital, but she still makes plenty of time for her patients. She touched my life like no one ever has and I will never forget her!

“Sara is the second recipient of a DAISY award since adopting the international program at our facility in 2019. We had a bit of a slow start and our recognition efforts were put on hold when Covid became all-consuming, but after the last two years and witnessing all the amazing nurses stepping up at our facility, this award means even more,” said Eberhardt. “Hearing the amazing nomination stories like Sara’s truly bring us back to the why of what we do at CFVH every day. We want to thank the individuals who have taken the time to make DAISY nominations so far and hope others will do so in the future so we can keep our recognition program alive and thriving for years to come.”

The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in California and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.

Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, CEO 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 the super-human work they do. The kind of work the nurses at St. Anthony Hospital are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award.”

If you have received exceptional care from one of our nurses and would like to thank them in a special way, we encourage you to nominate them for a DAISY Award. Learn more at: https://www.cfvh.org/patients-and-visitors/daisy-award/. Nomination forms are also available at CFVH hospital and Family Medicine office locations.