Decisive Action Helps Save a Life: Moore Regional Hospital Nurse Honored with DAISY Award

Contributed by Emily Stone, FirstHealth of The Carolinas

PINEHURST, N.C. – Courtney Gunther, R.N., has been recognized as a DAISY Award winner by FirstHealth of the Carolinas. 

Gunther, who works on the surgical unit at Moore Regional Hospital, was nominated by Judith James, PA-C, a FirstHealth hospitalist who highlighted Gunther’s dedication to providing quality care during a scenario where a patient was having trouble with a low heart rate. 

“Courtney ordered an emergency EKG and notified the on-call provider, and the patient was transported and placed with our cardiology team for further evaluation,” James wrote. “This patient will undergo permanent pacemaker placement. Courtney’s insight and decisive action resulted in life-saving measures. I am proud to work at her side and thankful for her dedication to superior care of our patients.”

Tammy Hussey, R.N., Gunther’s manager at Moore Regional Hospital, said she brings infectious positivity to the entire unit. 

“You will never see Courtney without a smile on her face or a kind word to say about one of her coworkers. In the same way that she provides positivity to her coworkers, she provides hope and joy to her patients,” Hussey said. “Courtney has a way of making patients feel at ease. Through tough situations, Courtney never fails to find the silver lining and shows patients that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.” 

The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses was established by the Daisy Foundation, a not-for-profit, based in Glen Ellen, Calif. The foundation was started by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at the age of 33 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura, a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. 

The care Barnes and his family received from nurses inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patients’ families. Today, there are more than 2,800 health care facilities in all 50 states and 17 other countries honoring their nurses with the DAISY Award. 

FirstHealth of the Carolinas, which includes Moore Regional Hospital, Moore Regional Hospital – Richmond, Moore Regional Hospital – Hoke and Montgomery Memorial Hospital, recognizes an extraordinary nurse each month and has since 2014. For more information on the DAISY Award, or to nominate a deserving nurse, visit FirstHealth’s website.