DES MOINES, Iowa — To celebrate National Nurses Week, UnityPoint Health in Des Moines is honoring their healthcare heroes all week long, including an Oncology nurse who has made an immense impact in the department.
Hannah Thompson was honored in a surprise ceremony Wednesday afternoon with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurse Educators.
The DAISY Foundation's award program was created to "celebrate and recognize nurses by collecting nominations from patients, families, and co-workers," according to the foundation's website.
As a nurse-educator at UnityPoint, Thompson trains new nurses and helps them grow within the Radiation-Oncology department. She received several nominations for the award from those she's trained over the years.
In one of the nomination letters, a nurse wrote, "Hannah has many tasks in her role, but educating is her calling, and she goes above and beyond to do so... she not only teaches a formal class [on chemotherapy education] twice a year, but also meets with agency nurses who need to be chemotherapy-trained during off hours."
Thompson has been a nurse for nearly seven years, and became an educator in 2020. She says she feels blessed to work with patients with are going through chemotherapy or radiation, as many families look to nurses for support.
“I love being able to be there for the patients, be there for the family members, and help them through one of the most difficult times of their lives," Thompson told Local 5. "I try to take that moment sitting at a patient's bedside, hold their hand, and encourage them and their families."
UnityPoint Chief Nursing Officer Denise Curdy presented Thompson with the award, emphasizing how important it is to recognize nurses for the amazing work they do year-round.
"National Nurses Week is so important... nurses are crucial to how we function in the hospital and how patients receive their care," Curdy said.