April 16, 2021
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Today Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine surprised Virginia “Ginny” Castle, a registered nurse in the medical intensive care unit at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, by presenting her with the Daisy Award for her compassionate care of a patient who was hospitalized with COVID-19.
“Each year we recognize 12 nurses, one team and one nursing leader with this award. We have about 90 Daisy awardees currently working in our system today, and most are nominated by other staff members,” said Jackie Buck, chief nursing officer for Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. “That’s what makes this award nomination so special, because Ginny was nominated by the patient’s family.”
“She said she hoped I didn’t mind her asking these questions, but she felt a connection to him, and just wanted to get to know him and care about him as a person, rather than just treat him as another COVID patient,” Luttenberger wrote. “To hear her apologize for calling so late because she didn’t want to leave my Dad’s side struck me not as something for which she should not have apologized, but as perhaps the most compassionate act I’ve ever known.”
Ohio State Wexner Medical Center partners with the national Daisy Foundation to recognize extraordinary nurses who demonstrate care and compassion to patients and families.
“Each year we recognize 12 nurses, one team and one nursing leader with this award. We have about 90 Daisy awardees currently working in our system today, and most are nominated by other staff members,” said Jackie Buck, chief nursing officer for Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. “That’s what makes this award nomination so special, because Ginny was nominated by the patient’s family.” In his nomination letter, David Luttenberger described how Castle called him about 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 29, 2020, and immediately apologized for calling so late. She told him that “she had been sitting with my Dad for some time, holding his hand, combing his hair and telling him stories about her family, and she didn’t want to leave his side.”
His father, Fred Luttenberger, had been hospitalized for COVID-19 since Nov. 22. He was unconscious and on a ventilator. After providing a brief medical update, Castle asked Luttenberger a few personal questions to help her learn more about her patient.
“She said she hoped I didn’t mind her asking these questions, but she felt a connection to him, and just wanted to get to know him and care about him as a person, rather than just treat him as another COVID patient,” Luttenberger wrote. “To hear her apologize for calling so late because she didn’t want to leave my Dad’s side struck me not as something for which she should not have apologized, but as perhaps the most compassionate act I’ve ever known.”Luttenberger’s father passed away the next day, before Castle’s next shift. Once he learned that Castle would receive a Daisy award, Luttenberger asked his close friend, Gov. DeWine, to present it to her in a small ceremony at The James Cancer Hospital.
“This single person, in a 15-minute late night phone call, restored my faith that we still have those among us who, through such selfless acts, reaffirm that we still live in a caring and compassionate world,” Luttenberger wrote. In addition to Castle, two other nurses also received the Daisy Award this quarter:
Olga Gaverilenko, a critical care registered nurse in the intensive care unit at The Ohio State East Hospital. Her nominators described how she provided additional support as an interpreter for a Russian-speaking patient with COVID-19 and her family, in addition to the hospital’s interpreter services.
Her nominator wrote: “Olga is an exceptional nurse who receives continual positive feedback from her patients and the ICU team. She is a charge nurse who is always willing to help out and goes above and beyond for her patients.”
Gayle Voegele, a registered nurse in the medical intensive care unit at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. Her nominator described how she helped fulfill a patient’s request to be baptized before being sedated and put on ventilator support while being treated for COVID-19.
Her nominator wrote: “Gayle donned the appropriate personal protective equipment and went to the patient's bedside as the Chaplain stood outside of the glass doors to the room. She performed the physical baptism ritual for the Chaplain as he spoke to Gayle and the patient via speakerphone, fulfilling the patient's request. Gayle said this was something she had never experienced in her 30+ years as a nurse, and it touched her deeply. She understood how important it was to meet the spiritual as well as the clinical needs of her patient, and she went above and beyond to do so.”
Photo courtesy: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
Photo caption: Left to right, Gov. Mike DeWine, Virginia “Ginny” Castle and David Luttenberger
Media Contact: Eileen Scahill, Wexner Medical Center Media Relations, 614-293-3737, Eileen.Scahill@osumc.edu
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