The words were testimony to care and compassion.
The patient had come to Johnson Memorial Health seven months pregnant, suffering from the effects of COVID-19. She was all alone — until Carrie Umbarger, a day shift charge nurse in the hospital’s Maternity Care Center, came to comfort her.
Her words, captured in a nomination for the DAISY Award for nursing, sum up how Umbarger made a difference.
“Carrie was first my nurse when I was seven months pregnant and hospitalized for COVID. No one could be with me so I was afraid, alone and anxious. She had to come in at certain times throughout her shift to monitor my baby. She would sit and talk with me, make me feel as comfortable as possible and talk me through everything putting my mind at ease that my baby was okay,” the patient wrote.
For her dedication and compassion, Umbarger has been recognized with the DAISY Award, an international distinction given to nurses. During a ceremony in mid October, she was presented with the award, surrounded by her family and fellow nurses at Johnson Memorial Hospital.
Being recognized by her peers, and more importantly her patients, has been a tremendous honor, she said.
“It means a lot to be recognized for what we do every day, and someone took the time to actually sit down and write that nomination,” she said. “She remembered that, and took the time to do that.”
The DAISY Award was created in 1999 to recognize the work that nurses do for their patients. Founded by the family of J. Patrick Byrnes, who died of complications of the auto-immune disease idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura at the age of 33, the idea was to thank nurses like those who cared for him with such skill and care.
Anyone in a partnering health care organization — patients, family members, co-workers, physicians, staff — can nominate a nurse for the award.
Locally, Franciscan Health and Community Health South have been a partner organization with the DAISY Award. Johnson Memorial Health just started taking part; Umbarger is the first nurse with the health care system to receive it.
Umbarger has worked at Johnson Memorial Health for the past 19 years, including 11 in obstetrics. She was drawn to nursing, and particularly working with mothers and their babies, for a long time.
“I’ve always wanted to work in (obstetrics), just being with these moms on their happiest day is always exciting,” she said.
Every day inside the Maternity Care Center is different, Umbarger said. Moments of great joy for families are interspersed with tragedy and heartbreak — the nature of working in health care.
But there is no other place she’d want to be.
“Usually, it’s a very happy place, but not always. You get the first-time moms, and they’re scared. It’s good to be there to help them,” she said. “I have three kids of my own, so now I feel that I have a little more input that I can give them.”
Like everything in the health care field, the COVID-19 pandemic created new challenges within the Maternity Care Center, Umbarger said. Expectant mothers were limited on who could be by their side as they delivered their babies, and those who contracted the disease were isolated at their most vulnerable time.
During those instances, Umbarger tried to fill the void.
“They couldn’t have all of their family with them, so just being that support person was important,” she said. “You tried to accommodate them, whether that was with FaceTime or being on the phone with someone. You put yourself in their shoes and try to think what they want.”
Throughout her career, one of her greatest joys is seeing repeat patients — moms who are delivering their second or third babies at Johnson Memorial Health.
“They remember you coming back. It’s neat to be with them, and you get to hear how those other babies have grown up,” she said.
Serving on the Johnson Memorial Health Nursing Education Council, Umbarger is also a project lead with Indiana’s Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health.
Despite her service, she was caught off guard to win the DAISY Award. Her family and fellow nurses surprised her on Oct. 12 in a ceremony at the hospital.
“It was a complete shock. I came out and all of these people were standing here,” she said. ”You hear about the DAISY Award, and it’s awesome being the first one here at Johnson Memorial.”
Umbarger hopes that the recognition shines a spotlight on the ways that nurses try to make an impact in the lives of their patients, and all of the acts — large and small — that make up their days, particularly in the Maternity Care Center.
“We do a little bit of everything. There’s a lot more to it than what people think, that we just hold babies all day,” she said. “There are a lot of complications that can happen, so have you to be on your toes.”
AT A GLANCE
The DAISY Award
What is it: An international recognition program that celebrates the skillful, compassionate care nurses provide to patients and families every day.
Who can be nominated: Anyone in a partnering organization may submit a nomination — patients, family members, co-workers, physicians, staff, or anyone who experiences or observes extraordinary compassionate care being provided by a nurse.
How to nominate:
- Johnson Memorial Health: johnsonmemorial.org/daisy-award
- Community Health Network: ecommunity.com/say-thanks/daisy-award
- Franciscan Health: franciscanhealth.org/patient-resources/programs-and-support/daisy-award
People can also go to daisyfoundation.org to search health care organizations and nominate a nurse.
