ChildServe‘s 2022 DAISY Award Winners

The DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem) Award is an international recognition program that celebrates the skillful, compassionate care nurses provide every day.

At ChildServe, we recently celebrated 13 nominees and four winners as families and nurses took the time to honor and thank the ChildServe nurses they have seen go above and beyond in their work in the last year. Read the winning nominations below, and join us in congratulating these nurses on their excellent care:

Jamila Makokha, RN, RT
Role: Pediatric Inpatient Rehabilitation Nurse
Years at ChildServe: 8

Nomination #1: “Jamila is an amazing nurse and has a heart of gold. She is always going above and beyond for the kids as well as the staff. ChildServe’s Pediatric Rehabilitation Unit is so lucky to have her. Jamila’s presence makes the unit a better place!”

Nomination #2: “Jamila has so many talents and so much compassion. She started at ChildServe in 2014 as a respiratory therapist. Jamila is a team player and always has a positive attitude. A few years later, Jamila decided to pursue a nursing degree, which was a win for the nursing field and certainly for ChildServe!

After completing her degree in nursing, Jamila was a part of the first nursing residency program at ChildServe. During her time in the residency program, she fully engaged with the material and shared what she was learning with her team. To conclude the program Jamila completed a project on the medication administration process in collaboration with pharmacies and management to make improvements.

Jamila is compassionate, caring, a strong family advocate and also bilingual! When a family came into the Pediatric Rehabilitation Unit for extra training prior to going home, we realized the primary caregiver for the child only spoke Swahili. When Jamila said ‘hello’ to her and asked her how she was doing in Swahili, the smile on their face was so big. Jamila would take this family member to the cafe to help them find foods that they liked and translate the menu. She also taught other nurses how to say simple phrases to help this caregiver feel more comfortable.

We are so extremely lucky to have Jamila at ChildServe. She has an incredibly bright future ahead of her. Thank you, Jamila, for being one of the most versatile and caring nurses I know!”

Jennifer Schultz, MBA, BSN, RN
Role: Inpatient Operations Manager
Years at ChildServe: 3

“From the beginning of the pandemic, Jennifer has tried to keep those we serve, their family members and all our current team members healthy and safe. She has continued to push for all the proper equipment such as PPE and some of the latest technology to help streamline our processes. When PPE was hard to come by, Jennifer continued to challenge our vendors and took the time to find as many alternatives as possible. She also worked hard to help us move forward with a temperature scanning kiosk, freeing up staff to focus on more pertinent tasks. 

Jennifer oversees multiple departments, most of which are new to her, including social work, infection prevention, education and dietary. When each new area was assigned to Jennifer, she made it a priority to meet with the team members and learn about their roles. She maintains open communication by holding weekly meetings with each team. The agenda always ends with “what do you need from me” and she does not take this question lightly. She makes time to listen to all concerns, needs and goals on a professional and personal level, truly making sure she knows her team and what is important to them. This connection has helped her build a level of trust with her team that is hard to find.

One of the major tasks handed to Jennifer in the beginning of the pandemic was communication with families. She has worked hard to build a relationship with as many family members as she can, which can be difficult when you indirectly care for our residents. Jennifer ensures families receive weekly communications tailored to what is most important to share. She is as transparent as possible about how we care for the children and young adults we serve, challenges we’re facing, how we are handling them and our wins.

As if all the other accomplishments were not enough, Jennifer recently passed her exam to become a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator. Her passion for taking care of her team members and ensuring all residents are living their best lives comes through in her work every day. She takes on every day with a smile on her face and compassion in her heart. I firmly believe she deserves to be honored for all her dedication to those she serves.”

Lynndy Mobley, RN
Role: Homecare Nurse

“Lynndy started working with my daughter in early 2019
shortly after my wife passed away. Since day 1, she has cared for her in a way I never thought possible. Lynndy’s been extremely patient with me being a grieving husband. She started with me at a previous homecare agency and followed me to ChildServe homecare without hesitation.

She went with my daughter to school until the school decided to not pursue that route. Lynndy helped me with my daughter to make that transition as stress-free as possible. With Lynndy’s quest to be a better nurse to help with my daughter, she has signed up for 4 classes. She’s taken classes for G-tubes, a seminar called “Being Their Voice,” for children who cannot speak (my daughter is non-verbal), a brain injury specialist class, and a palliative care course. 

When my daughter needed to have a couple of procedures done, Lynndy stepped up and trained with my son, who needs homecare nursing, since I did not have a nurse currently with him. Lynndy cared for my son while I was with my daughter. 

She has helped cared for my daughter all through the pandemic and has shown me the commitment she is willing to take in caring for others. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award than Lynndy. She is truly one of a kind!”

Team Award | Outpatient Complex Care Team

Dr. Leah Brandon, DO, MSA, FAAP

Hannah Jepson Slaughter BSN, MSN, ARNP, PC-PNP

Korie Eischeid, RN

Kori Ensley, RN

Megan Noble, RN

Tiffany Decker

“My daughter has complex medical needs. This year, she experienced many difficulties due to an infection. Dr. Brandon and her excellent team of nurses were with us every step of the way. They went out of their way to help us care for my daughter. They also helped to calm our nerves and give us the support we needed to care for her. They are amazing, caring, dedicated and very skilled nurses. We appreciate all they do for us and many other patients.”