Abbie Ochsner, MSN, BA, RN, LSSBB, has exceptional commitment and compassion that very well align with the criteria for the DAISY Award. She is a registered nurse and is currently the director of oncology infusion services at St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Edgewood, Kentucky. As the director of oncology services, her role was pivotal in conducting a Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) - the final step in the 8-step evidence-based design process - of the new infusion center that was opened on St. Elizabeth campus in 2020.

Abbie demonstrated exceptional ability to collaborate with the research and design team and was a key person in coordinating data collection including staff survey, patient survey, and staff and medication shadowing. This involved presenting to the clinical staff why the research is important, connecting them with the research team, and ensuring the research team was able to collect the data needed for the post-occupancy research. In doing so, she brought not only her expertise and recommendations but also an open-minded, curious, and collaborative approach that greatly enhanced this interdisciplinary partnership.

With her interest in research, she was not only involved with data collection, but also was curious about the results and eagerly participated in making sense of the research findings and provided great insights that helped interpret the data. Her role was pivotal in the success of the POE research, as she was well aware of the processes in the infusion center and could help the research team make sense of the data and triangulate findings.

Abbie’s commitment to prioritizing a user-centric approach is commendable. As the director of infusion services, she strives to ensure that patients' and families' needs and expectations are met and that they receive a top quality care. As part of the findings from the POE research, it was important to understand patient satisfaction with privacy at each step of the way including during check-in, while at the infusion bays, and during check out. To further improve patient privacy, she advocated for schedulers to meet patients in the infusion bays and discuss scheduling needs, as opposed to having patients go to the scheduling stations. This ensures a more streamlined process for patients and improves their privacy.

Last but not least, Abbie had an important role in knowledge sharing and presenting the findings from the POE research at the Healthcare Design Conference, which is one of the most prestigious conferences in healthcare design, to help other researchers and clinicians learn from this effort. In preparing the presentation, she actively solicited and incorporated ideas from team members, ensuring a collaborative approach, and had an important role in the success of the presentation.