(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Cass Health have announced Linda Edelman, RN, BSN is the newest recipient of The DAISY Award, which celebrates excellence in nursing. Edelman has been a nurse for 37 years, and she has worked primarily in public health, with several years of home health experience also. She says “While I was working on my BSN, I was doing my community health rotation in Council Bluffs and that’s when I first found my interest in public health. I loved being able to go into the community and being able to take care of people of all ages from young, pregnant women to my patients who were well into their 90s.” .

Edelman was nominated by Cass County Public Health Director Beth Olsen. In her nomination letter, Olsen said “My nomination is based specifically on the care she provides to our Pacific Island community members. Linda has taken the time to learn about their culture and wants to deeply understand the issues that this community faces each day. She meets them where they are and understands the deep and complex layers of working with an entire community whose culture and approach to healthcare is quite different than what an American nurse is trained for.

“Linda adjusts her works hours to accommodate their long and varying shift work, going above and beyond to meet their needs. It is not uncommon for Linda to work an evening, weekend or on her day off- if that is when the patient has time to meet with her. This community trusts Linda deeply with their healthcare needs. She is known as a resource for the entire community, helping with many things beyond her original intentions of connecting with these individuals. It’s not uncommon to see them greet her in the grocery store or for children to run up and give her a hug when they recognize her on the street.

Linda listens attentively to each concern she is presented with and seamlessly connects each individual and family to the care and services they need to have a better life and experience in Atlantic.” Edelman said, “I love what I do, and I am passionate about helping this community. There’s so much work to be done, and I really want these new residents to feel like this is their home, and we care about them. I really care about them, and I get back so much gratification from helping them.”

Linda Edelman, RN, BSN

As for the DAISY Award, Edelman said it was a huge surprise and shock. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen. It is a complete honor, and I want to make sure to say that I am so blessed to work with such wonderful people. I’ve worked with a lot of terrific people, a lot of departments, a lot of people in the community – and I’m just so lucky be part of an amazing team,” she said.

Nurses at Cass Health are honored twice annually with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.® The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate care nurses provide to patients and families every day. The DAISY Award committee at Cass Health thanks all nominators for their submissions. Each nurse who was nominated will be presented with a special pin and a copy of the nomination.

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.)  The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.

This is one initiative of The DAISY Foundation to express gratitude to the nursing profession.  Additionally, DAISY offers J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects, The DAISY Faculty Award to honor inspiring faculty members in schools and colleges of nursing, and The DAISY in Training Award for nursing students. More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org. An online nomination form is available at https://www.casshealth.org/daisy.