Louie Gutierrez Honored With DAISY Award

Louie Gutierrez, ADN, RN, of ChristianaCare’s 6S Stepdown Unit at Wilmington Hospital, received the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses in July. After 21 years in the banking profession, Gutierrez attended nursing school in his mid-50s and joined ChristianaCare in 2013. He said nursing has been the most challenging and the most rewarding professional experience of his life.

While caring for a patient who was losing his battle with COVID-19-related pneumonia, Gutierrez also cared for the patient’s daughter. Her DAISY nomination described how this nurse went above-and-beyond in both actions and words.

He made sure his patient was comfortable. He explained to the daughter what was happening with her father, the medications available to allow him more comfort, and brought her blankets and food.

“Louie went out of his way to care for my father and me,” she wrote in her nomination. “He had so much compassion for us as human beings.”

The Professional Nurse Council at ChristianaCare selects DAISY Award recipients using an anonymous process based on nominations from patients, families and all members of the ChristianaCare team. All nurses — inpatient, outpatient and ChristianaCare HomeHealth — are eligible.