VNA wound care specialist Margaret Bloom, RN, receives DAISY Award

Nursing leaders and colleagues with DAISY Award honoree Margaret Bloom, RN, WCC, recognized for providing extraordinary care.

January 11, 2016

Margaret Bloom, RN, CCM, WCC, is the first nurse with the Christiana Care Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) to receive the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.

Christiana Care DAISY Award recipients are nurses recognized for meeting and exceeding the needs and expectations of patients and families by displaying exceptional clinical skills, compassion, respect and partnership.

Margaret Bloom, RN, CCM, WCC, of the Christiana Care VNA is the recipient of a DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses for October 2015.

Bloom’s DAISY nomination comes from a busy working mom and active community board member with two young children. After open heart surgery, the patient experienced an allergy to the sutures that caused her wound to reopen and required daily packing.

Back at home, she needed help treating her incision. She was overwhelmed.

“This medical nightmare has been traumatic and packing was the last straw. I was a wreck until Margie, as a wound specialist, came to see me at my home,” she said in the nomination.

The patient’s description of Bloom’s care perfectly illustrates The Christiana Care Way of serving our neighbors as respectful, expert, caring partners in their health:

“She knew to moisten the packing to minimize the pain and discomfort.

“She was gentle, empathetic, professional and patient.

“She listened, addressed my concerns and, along with healing and closing the wound, she also relieved my anxiety.

“She even treated me on her days off.

“I am so grateful to Margie. She made all the difference for me at a very emotional and difficult time. I will be a forever advocate of the visiting nurses program and Margie.”

Bloom is a VNA wound care specialist in Camden, Del. On Nov. 10, Christiana Care nursing leaders traveled to Camden and gathered Bloom’s colleagues to surprise her with the DAISY Award.

Christiana Care VNA is the only locally owned and operated full-service skilled home health care agency in Delaware. Its 800 plus VNA health care professionals make more than 350,000 home visits each year. By giving patients the option of home recovery, Christiana Care is working to take care of our community in a way that’s cost effective — and very much in line with how people want to be treated.

Established in 1999, the family of J. Patrick Barnes created the DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Award to honor his memory with a tribute to the skillful and compassionate care he received from his nurses during his hospitalization. Today, more than 2,000 health care facilities in every state and 15 countries honor nurses with the DAISY Award.

The Professional Nurse Council at Christiana Care selects DAISY Award recipients using a blind selection process based on nominations from patients, families and all members of the Christiana Care team. All nurses — inpatient, outpatient and VNA — are eligible.