Halpern’s Encouragement Earns Her a DAISY Nurse Leader Award

Having a knowledgeable, confident and supportive leader makes all the difference when you work in healthcare – just ask any nurse. For this reason and more, Bayhealth Senior Nurse Manager Dianne Halpern, MSN, RN, CNML, was recently named a DAISY Nurse Leader.

“From the very beginning of my career, I admired how she led my interview with great confidence, knowledge and organization. Dianne has a magical way of being a kind and patient leader…while also being firm, direct and serious,” wrote the nurse who worked with Halpern for several years and whose decision to share her experience earned Halpern the DAISY Nurse Leader Award.

“She is the perfect picture of what I want to be as a nurse leader. She is tough and instills high standards, expects staff to meet and exceed those, a protector of her nurses, dedicated to her craft, holds her staff accountable, and is no nonsense when it comes to patient care,” continued the nurse, who is currently a clinic coordinator supervising more than 40 staff members in four different rural clinics.

“Every day I continue to pull from my invaluable experiences I gained from being under Dianne’s leadership. She pushed me, challenged me and supported me, because she knew that was what I needed to become the leader I am today,” she shared.

Halpern, who is currently the senior nurse manager on 1A at Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus, has been a nurse at Bayhealth for 36 years. Over the course of her career, she has worked as a staff RN, as a manager of the IMC and ICU, as a case manager, and as a nurse manager of a medical/surgical unit.

“I was very surprised, humbled and honored to be recognized,” said Halpern when asked what it means to her to receive the DAISY Nurse Leader Award.

The DAISY Award is given by the DAISY Foundation, which was formed in 2000 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes. The Barnes family wanted to recognize the nurses who cared for Patrick and all the other “unsung heroes” of the nursing profession.

DAISY Award honorees are chosen by nurses, administrators, peers, physicians, volunteers, patients, and family. If you know a Bayhealth nurse who deserves to be nominated, visit Bayhealth.org/DAISY and fill out the nomination form.