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Pictured: DAISY Award recipient Lynnette Brown, RN

As the year’s first DAISY Award honoree, Labor & Delivery nurse Lynette Brown, RN, had her 30-plus years of experience put on display during a special presentation to recognize her.

During the presentation, Chief Nursing Officer Vickie Swanson, RN, BSN, MSN and Obstetrics & New Family Services Director Chris Johnson, RN, presented Brown with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses®, an award created by the DAISY Foundation to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care provided to patients and families.

Browns’s nomination was read in front of a crowd of colleagues, family and friends, who heard of her “above and beyond” care for a new mother and baby.

“I’m just so impressed with Lynette’s professionalism and lovely, caring, nurturing and encouraging bedside manner,” said Brown’s nominator. “Lynette saved me from hopelessness and depression and made me feel so cared for and taken care of. She’s the nurse cheerleader every mom needs!”

Brown’s full DAISY Award nomination details her work and care in the Labor & Delivery department over multiple days, including how she taught the new parents “so much to help with our new parenting journey.” Here’s what else was said:

“I came to Labor and Delivery being overdue 11 days and getting induced which is not what I was hoping for. I had the delight of meeting a wonderful nurse named Lynette who made me feel so cared for, and her encouragement and positive attitude is something I will never forget.

The baby was in the wrong position, so Lynette and I did endless positional exercises to try and turn the baby. I reached a point where I was losing hope that I’d make it to 10 cm in time and Lynette sensed I needed a release, so she sweetly gave me the permission to cry and let it out. That was exactly what I needed in the moment was a good cry and release from the stress. After that, the somber mood changed in the room and I felt encouraged to keep going.

The induction took me two days and I reached the 11th hour where I only had about two hours to push before I had to make a decision, since I’d been on Pitocin for the maximum amount, plus my membranes had ruptured over 24 hours before. Lynette then gave me all her tips and tricks to push that baby out as effectively as I could. I pushed for two and a half hours but the baby’s head would not descend out of the pelvis. It was determined my pelvis was likely too small and so the decision had to be made to have an unplanned C Section.

After recovery, nursing seemed to come naturally and easily, but the next day, it went downhill as my colostrum was drying up and the baby was frustrated and stopped latching properly. I kept trying every two hours for days with many nurses and lactation consultants giving me all their trips and tricks, which I so appreciated, but nothing seemed to work. The baby started losing weight and I was running out of my frozen colostrum, so I was having a meltdown worrying I would have to feed him with formula and bottles, and that’s what we ended up doing.

Then Lynette came back in for a shift and heard my story and said, “Let’s not lose hope yet, I have another option that would be perfect for you.” At that time, I had been crying off and on all night, and was in a dark place emotionally feeling like a failure. I was beginning to lose all hope. Then Lynette offered an ingenious solution of a supplemental feeding system, which uses a little tiny hose that you feed into a nipple shield to have the baby feed the formula through your breast. So, I got the nipple stimulation for bringing in milk and the baby thinks he’s feeding from my breast. It was successful and Lynette took the time with my partner and I that day to help us with subsequent feedings until we were proficient with the system on our own. She turned our frowns upside down! She also taught us the best swaddle style and it’s the way we’ve swaddle ever since.

I’m just so impressed with Lynette’s professionalism and lovely, caring, nurturing, and encouraging bedside manner. There’s no substitute for years of experience, and Lynette has obtained invaluable tips over the years for us first time moms. She’s taught me so much to help with our new parenting journey. Lynette saved me from hopelessness and depression, and made me feel so cared for and taken care of. She’s the nurse cheerleader every mom needs! I had a wonderful experience with the whole team of nurses and doctors honestly, but Lynette just went so above and beyond for me and helped me solve some hard problems.

Thank you, Lynette!”

Olympic Medical nurses may be nominated by patients, families and colleagues. Each honoree receives a certificate commending her or him 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 receive a DAISY Award pin and a meaningful, hand-carved sculpture called A Healer’s Touch. A cross-functional committee of healthcare workers review the nominations and select the final nominee.

Go to www.olympicmedical.org/thank-a-nurse for more information or to nominate an extraordinary Olympic Medical Center nurse.

About the DAISY Foundation

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family.  Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of an auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem.)  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. More information can be found at DAISYfoundation.org.