December 2025 Honoree
WCSL Team DAISY
Laura Hall – Director of Patient Services, Women and Children’s Services • Kimberly Geurin – Nurse Manager, NICU • Julie Brooks – Nurse Manager, Birthing Center • Julie Brain – Nurse Manager, Women’s Care • Kelly Bernatow – Nurse Navigator, WCSL • Lexie Beavers – Nurse, Mother & Family • Grace Wilson – Nurse, Birthing Center • Elizabeth Ryan – Nurse, Resource Pool • Jessica Whitman – Nurse, Women’s Care • Leah Kuchler – Nurse, Women’s Care • Isabelle Williamson – Nurse, Women’s Care • Ashley Hupp – Nurse, Wee Steps Program • Kymbre Governson – Nurse, Wee Steps Program • Edith (Dedie) Blackburn – Nurse, NICU • Nora Robbins – Nurse, NICU • Margaret Stone – Nurse, Resource Pool • Krista Cole – Nurse, Resource Pool • Tanya Hadzic – Nurse, Pediatrics • Jessica Aldaco – Nurse, Enterprise Float Pool • Kayla Wondoloski – Nurse, NICU • Alida Stack – Nurse, NICU • Kimberly Eatinger – Nurse, NICU • Whitney Eipper – Nurse, NICU • Danielle DeCagna – Nurse, NICU • Heather McCall – Nurse, NICU • Brittany Nally – Nurse, NICU • Erin Knobel – Nurse, NICU • Courtney Oran – Charge Nurse, NICU • Tanya Schweitzer – Charge Nurse, NICU • Sarah Tomlinson – Social Services Professional, Care Management • Kim Pine – Clinical Social Worker, Care Management • Leslie Ayres-Reichert – Behavioral Health Clinical Therapist • Jen Johns – Behavioral Health Clinical Therapist, FMC • Kylie Dominick – Resident, FMC • Annika Ahmed – Occupational Therapist • Elijah Mullins – Manager of Rehabilitation Services • Megan Kates – Physical Therapist • Kristy Weis-Sledge – Occupational Therapist • Maria Bello – Occupational Therapist • Jaclyn Atkinson – Physical Therapist • Jason Wright – Physician, Women & Children • Leanna Farrar – Peer Support Specialist • Kerri Applegate – Supervisor of Rehab Services, Childs Therapy • Jennifer Fudge – Speech Language Pathologist, Childs Therapy • Elizabeth Sanchez – Occupational Therapist, Childs Therapy • Caryn Unger – Physical Therapist, Childs Therapy • Ilona Helin – Speech Language Pathologist, Childs Therapy • Beth Teschler – Occupational Therapist, Childs Therapy • Jessica King – Surgical Coordinator, Women’s Care Pikes Peak • Elizabeth Andersen – Nurse, NICU • Tracy Stefanik – Charge Nurse, NICU • Carleen Birchette – Charge Nurse, NICU • Michelle Block – Charge Nurse, NICU • Monica Faherty – Care Manager FMC
It is our pleasure, on behalf of the DAISY Foundation, to present the December 2025 Team DAISY Award to Team Members of Women and Children Service Line, Float Pool, and Enterprise Float Pool, Social Services, Care Management, Behavioral Health, Rehabilitation Services, and FMC Residency Program
During a recent birth, our Women and Children’s Services Team provided exceptional care for a patient who is visually impaired, navigating labor and delivery with complex social needs. Throughout antepartum care, we had several care conferences with the patient to orient her to the hospital, inpatient processes, and the care of her infant. The patient was also paired with a recovery coach doula, who attended all the hospital visits as well as outpatient care visits. This doula was present for the birth and supported the patient through her hospital stay.
Throughout labor and into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit stay, the team kept care accessible and dignified. Nurses introduced themselves with each encounter, described procedures before touching, and offered tactile orientation to room features and equipment. With the expertise of the Occupational Therapy team, several modifications were made to the patient’s physical care room. These included placing Velcro indicators on the floor so the patient could navigate her way to the restroom and the parent lounge using her cane. Her room was arranged so that the patient knew where essential items were located and she could access them independently. Medication bottles were differentiated with stickers in which the patient could tactically identify.
Each clinical step was articulated using clear and accessible language, pausing periodically to address questions, demonstrating attentive listening, and verifying patient preferences throughout the decision-making process. Clinical nurses from the NICU and Women’s Care Unit collaborated with the OB provider team, Neonatal teams, and community organizations to reduce anxiety, maintain privacy, and support the patient’s choices for feeding, bonding, and visiting.
When unexpected challenges arose, the team remained calm, aligned, and present, assigning a core team to support the patient to minimize information burden and ensure consistent communication.
Understanding the wider needs, social work, case management, nurse navigation, therapy teams, and various community organizations collaborated early on to organize resources, develop safety plans, and arrange follow-up care. Because the patient was experiencing homelessness, the care team did extensive work to find a location where the patient could stay after delivery with her baby. The patient was able to move into Birthline Maternity Home of Loveland, where she created a social network and gained the confidence to independently care for her infant. The patient was able to visit the home prior to discharge to become acclimated and settled, prior to moving in with her infant.
This care exemplified UCHealth’s Values in Action: Patients First (respect, dignity, compassion), Integrity (inclusion, authenticity, owning outcomes), and Excellence (exceptional care, innovation for improvement). The patient left with a clear, accessible discharge plan and felt seen, safe, and empowered.
Their work shows how clinical skill and human connection, delivered through accessibility and teamwork, improve lives, one birth, one family, one moment at a time.
During a recent birth, our Women and Children’s Services Team provided exceptional care for a patient who is visually impaired, navigating labor and delivery with complex social needs. Throughout antepartum care, we had several care conferences with the patient to orient her to the hospital, inpatient processes, and the care of her infant. The patient was also paired with a recovery coach doula, who attended all the hospital visits as well as outpatient care visits. This doula was present for the birth and supported the patient through her hospital stay.
Throughout labor and into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit stay, the team kept care accessible and dignified. Nurses introduced themselves with each encounter, described procedures before touching, and offered tactile orientation to room features and equipment. With the expertise of the Occupational Therapy team, several modifications were made to the patient’s physical care room. These included placing Velcro indicators on the floor so the patient could navigate her way to the restroom and the parent lounge using her cane. Her room was arranged so that the patient knew where essential items were located and she could access them independently. Medication bottles were differentiated with stickers in which the patient could tactically identify.
Each clinical step was articulated using clear and accessible language, pausing periodically to address questions, demonstrating attentive listening, and verifying patient preferences throughout the decision-making process. Clinical nurses from the NICU and Women’s Care Unit collaborated with the OB provider team, Neonatal teams, and community organizations to reduce anxiety, maintain privacy, and support the patient’s choices for feeding, bonding, and visiting.
When unexpected challenges arose, the team remained calm, aligned, and present, assigning a core team to support the patient to minimize information burden and ensure consistent communication.
Understanding the wider needs, social work, case management, nurse navigation, therapy teams, and various community organizations collaborated early on to organize resources, develop safety plans, and arrange follow-up care. Because the patient was experiencing homelessness, the care team did extensive work to find a location where the patient could stay after delivery with her baby. The patient was able to move into Birthline Maternity Home of Loveland, where she created a social network and gained the confidence to independently care for her infant. The patient was able to visit the home prior to discharge to become acclimated and settled, prior to moving in with her infant.
This care exemplified UCHealth’s Values in Action: Patients First (respect, dignity, compassion), Integrity (inclusion, authenticity, owning outcomes), and Excellence (exceptional care, innovation for improvement). The patient left with a clear, accessible discharge plan and felt seen, safe, and empowered.
Their work shows how clinical skill and human connection, delivered through accessibility and teamwork, improve lives, one birth, one family, one moment at a time.
Thank you for your exceptional compassion, advocacy, and dedication to your patients. You truly make a difference.
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