She was nominated for the award by a patient’s daughter, along with co-worker Lexy Gatewood, who is also a registered nurse in Acute Care.

The nomination from the patient’s daughter reads:

“In February, our father was taken to the Fort Dodge ER. Our 84-year-old mother was with our dad in the ER. The nurses made sure Mom had lunch, etc. When my dad was finally moved to a patient room, he seemed to be getting better. My sister was in Idaho with family. My brother lives in Washington, DC, and I live in Algona. After a few hours of being home, Diane called my mom to tell her my dad passed. Diane asked if she was alone, and my mom said yes. Diane went out of her way to go and pick up mom so she could be with my dad. She was with my mom the whole time until I could get there. Diane, what a great heart you have to help our mother at this time. God bless you.”

Gatewood’s nomination reads:

“Diane went above and beyond to help a family member in an unexpected situation. She didn’t bat an eye and did what she could to help. During this time, Diane did not complain about this situation even though she had already worked a 12-hour-shift. She showed empathy toward the family during the whole process. As a co-worker, it makes me so proud to have a co-worker who is dedicated to making their patients and their families comfortable and taking the extra mile.”

Walstrom was honored during a celebration with her family and team members. She received a certificate, pin and sculpture.

DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The DAISY Foundation was formed in January 2000 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at age 33 from complications of an auto-immune disease. His family wanted to say “thank you” to nurses by everywhere by establishing a recognition program – The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses – to “honor the super-human work nurses do every day at the bedside.”

The DAISY Award is a merit-based award that honors clinical skill, leadership, strong patient care and compassion.