I would like to nominate Charlie Lapp for the DAISY Award to formally recognize him for his outstanding care and compassion he consistently demonstrates as an ICU nurse at WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital. Over the last three months my 93-year-old mother, who up to this point was generally in good health and lived alone at home, has spent all but one week in either the hospital or in a rehab facility following hospital discharge. This included a trip to the ER at WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital, where she was then admitted to the ICU.

While she had an incredible team of nurses in the ICU, Charlie Lapp stood out as an exceptional nurse. With the amount of time, I’ve spent by my mom’s side during her hospital stays and time in rehab I have observed care provided by many different nurses and other medical professionals, and none come anywhere close to the care Charlie provided. This extraordinary care and compassion are shown not only to the patients he’s caring for but also to family members as well by frequently asking if they are okay, if they need anything, and if they have questions. And as someone who spent every night and day with my mom while she was in ICU, Charlie made sure I had a recliner to sleep in and brought sheets, blankets, and a pillow to help me rest more comfortably. He took an interest in us and our well-being as well and provided us with support and encouragement during what was a very emotional time for all of us. Charlie, along with the charge nurse on third shift in ICU, took a genuine interest in my mom as a person, not just as a patient they were assigned to care for. This included asking her questions about her interests, her career prior to retirement, her family, and other topics, and then using that information to have meaningful conversations with her while they were providing care. When my mom shared that she had been a church organist for 75 years, and a choir director for 25 years, Charlie brightened her spirits tremendously when he asked her if she’d like to visit his church after her discharge and play their pipe organ. He then reached out to his church organist to put him in touch with us.

Another example is when the charge nurse who shared with my mom that she sang in a church choir, asked my mom her favorite hymn, which she and Charlie then started singing to her at 5 am after she’d had a rough night and was unable to sleep. Two hours later, after the end of Charlie’s shift, he stopped back to my mom’s room and asked if he could pray with her. Charlie’s actions throughout her stay in ICU, and especially that morning, gave my mom the will and encouragement to keep going. Only 3 days earlier my mom had given up and told us she was ready to go to Heaven. At that point based on her condition and lack of desire to continue fighting, discussions began for providing Comfort Care for her. After Charlie’s encouragement and prayer my mom showed renewed strength and motivation, and she told us she now wanted to go on. A short time later she asked to get out of bed to sit in her chair the first time in more than a week, which she was successful in doing. To quote my mother’s words after Charlie’s prayer, "I didn’t think I’d be able to do this, but now I am out of bed and sitting in a chair. He was the motivator that I can do this. The other times they tried to get me out of bed my feet collapsed under me but this time it was as smooth as it could be. It’s nurses like Charlie, I have never experienced anything like that, to have a nurse like that, that has such genuine concern and takes time to pray for me gives me encouragement to go on and believe there’s a reason for me still being here. I’m sure he gives that kind of care to all his patients, but he just went overboard for me."

My mom looked forward to seeing Charlie each night when his shift started, and deeply appreciated that he took the time to stop up to see her in her in the Progressive Care Unit at the end of his shift after she was moved from ICU, when we all knew he was probably anxious to go home to bed after a long night in ICU. Charlie provided extraordinary medical care for my mom that played a huge part in her recovery. But above and beyond that, the genuine interest, care and compassion that Charlie showed to my mom did more for her recovery by renewing her will to keep going than the medical treatment itself. We credit Charlie for saving her life by his incredible acts of kindness and loving care. Charlie told us that he only recently went to nursing school, and that he’s only been in this job since last May. With the of level of care, he provided and his expertise we had assumed he was a much more seasoned nurse than only doing this for 8 months. Although new to nursing, he is an incredible role model to others on providing high quality care and compassion for patients and their families, and what an impact that can have on patients. WellSpan is fortunate to have him on its staff, and any patient that he provides care for is equally fortunate to receive his care. Thank you, Charlie, for saving my mom’s life with your extraordinary nursing care, and the encouragement to keep on going and not give up! You are truly one of a kind!