Abby Williams-Cleary, RN, BSN honored with The DAISY Award at UPH-GRMC

Abby William-Cleary, a nurse at UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center was recently honored with the DAISY Award for her work with patients at the hospital.

   UnityPoint Health® – Grinnell Regional Medical Center (GRMC) has proudly honored medical/surgical team member, Abby Williams-Cleary, RN, BSN with The Daisy Award. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care that nurses provide patients and families every day.
      An excerpt from the nomination reads, “I’ve had 17 surgeries and hands down, Abby is the best nurse I’ve ever had the privilege to take care of me. She puts her whole heart into her career and she shows it in every way. The positive experience I had with her will remain with me forever. She’s an absolute rock star!”
     Williams-Cleary was surrounded by her team members and leaders during the Daisy award presentation during Nurse’s Week, May 6 – 12.
    A native of Rockford, Ill., Williams-Cleary earned a degree in Sociology and Neuroscience from Grinnell College. She then went on to graduate from Creighton University with a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2014.
      “I’ve been an RN for about eight years, which is also how long I’ve worked at UPH-GRMC,” Williams-Cleary said. “I also work at the Mayflower Health Center in Grinnell.”
When asked about the honor, Williams-Cleary said she went into nursing to help others and because it seemed like it would be a great challenge.
       “I am so grateful for the privilege to care for members of this community every day and to grow in my career with the guidance and example of my fellow nurses, physicians and other healthcare professionals,” she said. “Working on the medical-surgical floor means I work with a diversity of patients and conditions - I’ve been in the trenches of a pandemic, I’ve taken care of pediatrics to geriatrics to end-of-life.”
         Williams-Cleary said being honored with the Daisy Award has been amazing.
        “I have a passion to provide quality healthcare in a rural setting, and this feels like an affirmation that I’m where I’m supposed to be,” noted Williams-Cleary. “I’m so grateful to my patient who nominated me and the nursing administration at UnityPoint-Grinnell who gave me this great honor.”
         Williams-Cleary lives in Grinnell with her wife, Kalli, and their cats and dogs.
The DAISY Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes by members of his family. Barnes died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of an auto-immune disease. DAISY is an acronym for “diseases attacking the immune system.”
      Congratulations to Williams-Cleary for this prestigious honor. To recognize a nurse who has gone above and beyond, visit https://www.unitypoint.org/grinnell/recognize-your-nurse.aspx. For more information about The DAISY Award, visit http://DAISYfoundation.org.
        Editor's Note: J.O. Parker contributed to this article.