Denise Lyons
October 2021
Denise
Lyons
,
DNP, APRN, AGCNS-BC, LSSBB
WISH Program
ChristianaCare
Newark
,
DE
United States
Denise has made a significant difference in the lives of so many in so many ways: the care of patients and families (especially older adults), the development of self and staff/colleagues, the advocacy for nursing practice and advancement, and the role model of Love and Excellence as We Serve Together as a team.
Denise Lyons, DNP, APRN, AGCNS-BC has been with ChristianaCare for all of her 30-year (this June) nursing career. When I read the criteria for this award, I knew that Denise met the “years” criteria, but more importantly during those years, she has made a significant difference in the lives of so many in so many ways: the care of patients and families (especially older adults), the development of self and staff/colleagues, the advocacy for nursing practice and advancement, and the role model of Love and Excellence as We Serve Together as a team.
From the time Denise was a SNE (when we were Medical Center of Delaware beginning in 1991) to her Staff Nurse position in med-surg and oncology, to her SDS position, to her CNS position, to her Gerontology CNS position, and finally, to her Doctorate in Nursing Practice, Denise has been a dedicated, forward-thinking nurse with a distinguished career.
Dr. Denise Lyons (though she prefers to be called Denise) raised awareness of the importance of the special care of the older adult back in 2000 and has not stopped in the last 21 years. She brought the WISH (We Improve Senior Health) program based on the NYU/John Hartford Foundation NICHE program (Nurses Improving Care for Health System Elders) to ChristianaCare in 2001, and as the WISH Coordinator/Manager has educated thousands of staff in the care of the geriatric patient. Denise has made sure that ChristianaCare met the criteria and was recognized as an Exemplar NICHE/WISH program, attaining that national recognition 8 times in the last eight years. Her geriatric expertise is sought after often. She is responsible for encouraging many nurses to pursue their Geriatric certification, which hundreds have done (in fact at one point we went from 14 certified in Gerontology to close to 300 certified). She brought the Geriatric Review Course to the system which has helped our staff prepare for the ANCC Gerontology Boards.
Denise has been a mentor to many staff members, students, and colleagues, as well as a preceptor for CNS and DNP students. Denise has held and still holds many other leadership positions including co-chair of the System-wide Fall Prevention and Mobility team, the Delirium team, and the Constipation team. I am often the lucky “other half” of the co-chair team. I couldn’t ask for a better colleague to work with. She is organized, efficient, and gets the job done. She follows up with assignments, and always offers a helping hand to her colleagues as they embrace projects to improve care for patients. She believes in the team approach yet serves as a role model leader.
In her “spare time”, Denise obtained her LSSBB in 2018, and so brings that expertise to the “improvement” table. There is no project too big or too small for Denise to consider. She is always looking for innovative ways to improve care. Denise has been the principal investigator on numerous research projects that impact the care of our patients. She is the author of numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals and has presented locally and nationally as a sought-after speaker. She has been awarded several fellowships in her career, which she has used to work on projects to enhance the care of older patients. She has been a Value Institute Scholar and has won numerous awards over the years (too numerous to list here).
Denise has been one of the coordinators and driving forces for the Johns Hopkins Activity and Mobility Promotion Program being rolled out at ChristianaCare. She has led the way and continues to work with nursing, therapy, and other clinicians to improve the mobilization of all our patients. In addition, she accepted the Hopkins invitation to be the PI on the research involving 4 of our units for the AMP Program. She is part of the leadership team seeing this project to fruition. She is respected by all who have worked with her on these projects and programs.
Denise embraced the initial Magnet journey and continues to be involved in the subsequent renewals. She really does believe in the important role of the nursing profession on so many levels and how important it is for nurses to advance, develop new skills, and help transform care. She is the “go-to” person for advice for those who want to advance their careers, especially with a geriatric focus.
During this pandemic year, Denise delivered diversional activity items to COVID and non-COVID units in our system. She brought amplifiers, reading glasses, newspapers, teddy bears, dolls, twiddle muffs, puzzles, books, playing cards, and other items loaded up on carts and made the rounds. When there were COVID surges, staff were asked to move into clinical roles in the CAP program. Denise signed up for that and worked as a PCT at Wilmington Hospital on the COVID and non-COVID units. She was a key part of their team and brought extra hands and feet to the unit, but also her geriatric expertise. She certainly served with Love and Excellence in this role.
In addition, she has served locally and nationally on professional organization boards and committees. She is also on a local "Girls on the Run" Board and serves as a coach for them. Thank you for the opportunity to recognize this remarkable nurse leader with The DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award.
From the time Denise was a SNE (when we were Medical Center of Delaware beginning in 1991) to her Staff Nurse position in med-surg and oncology, to her SDS position, to her CNS position, to her Gerontology CNS position, and finally, to her Doctorate in Nursing Practice, Denise has been a dedicated, forward-thinking nurse with a distinguished career.
Dr. Denise Lyons (though she prefers to be called Denise) raised awareness of the importance of the special care of the older adult back in 2000 and has not stopped in the last 21 years. She brought the WISH (We Improve Senior Health) program based on the NYU/John Hartford Foundation NICHE program (Nurses Improving Care for Health System Elders) to ChristianaCare in 2001, and as the WISH Coordinator/Manager has educated thousands of staff in the care of the geriatric patient. Denise has made sure that ChristianaCare met the criteria and was recognized as an Exemplar NICHE/WISH program, attaining that national recognition 8 times in the last eight years. Her geriatric expertise is sought after often. She is responsible for encouraging many nurses to pursue their Geriatric certification, which hundreds have done (in fact at one point we went from 14 certified in Gerontology to close to 300 certified). She brought the Geriatric Review Course to the system which has helped our staff prepare for the ANCC Gerontology Boards.
Denise has been a mentor to many staff members, students, and colleagues, as well as a preceptor for CNS and DNP students. Denise has held and still holds many other leadership positions including co-chair of the System-wide Fall Prevention and Mobility team, the Delirium team, and the Constipation team. I am often the lucky “other half” of the co-chair team. I couldn’t ask for a better colleague to work with. She is organized, efficient, and gets the job done. She follows up with assignments, and always offers a helping hand to her colleagues as they embrace projects to improve care for patients. She believes in the team approach yet serves as a role model leader.
In her “spare time”, Denise obtained her LSSBB in 2018, and so brings that expertise to the “improvement” table. There is no project too big or too small for Denise to consider. She is always looking for innovative ways to improve care. Denise has been the principal investigator on numerous research projects that impact the care of our patients. She is the author of numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals and has presented locally and nationally as a sought-after speaker. She has been awarded several fellowships in her career, which she has used to work on projects to enhance the care of older patients. She has been a Value Institute Scholar and has won numerous awards over the years (too numerous to list here).
Denise has been one of the coordinators and driving forces for the Johns Hopkins Activity and Mobility Promotion Program being rolled out at ChristianaCare. She has led the way and continues to work with nursing, therapy, and other clinicians to improve the mobilization of all our patients. In addition, she accepted the Hopkins invitation to be the PI on the research involving 4 of our units for the AMP Program. She is part of the leadership team seeing this project to fruition. She is respected by all who have worked with her on these projects and programs.
Denise embraced the initial Magnet journey and continues to be involved in the subsequent renewals. She really does believe in the important role of the nursing profession on so many levels and how important it is for nurses to advance, develop new skills, and help transform care. She is the “go-to” person for advice for those who want to advance their careers, especially with a geriatric focus.
During this pandemic year, Denise delivered diversional activity items to COVID and non-COVID units in our system. She brought amplifiers, reading glasses, newspapers, teddy bears, dolls, twiddle muffs, puzzles, books, playing cards, and other items loaded up on carts and made the rounds. When there were COVID surges, staff were asked to move into clinical roles in the CAP program. Denise signed up for that and worked as a PCT at Wilmington Hospital on the COVID and non-COVID units. She was a key part of their team and brought extra hands and feet to the unit, but also her geriatric expertise. She certainly served with Love and Excellence in this role.
In addition, she has served locally and nationally on professional organization boards and committees. She is also on a local "Girls on the Run" Board and serves as a coach for them. Thank you for the opportunity to recognize this remarkable nurse leader with The DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award.