Salisbury, MD — TidalHealth Peninsula Regional is pleased to announce that Rebecca Ball, RN, and Barry Outten, RN, both of the Emergency Department (ED), have been selected as its DAISY Award recipients for December 2025.
Ball and Outten were nominated by their supervisor, Jessica Cropper, for going above and beyond for a recent ED patient:
“Rebecca and Barry truly saved a man’s life in the ED. Atlantic General Hospital sent a patient over who was very sick with an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The patient was coming to TidalHealth Peninsula Regional to be rushed to the operating room (OR) for cardiothoracic surgery.
Upon arrival, the patient went into cardiac arrest. The ED staff was able to get the patient’s pulse back and at this time, the surgeon spoke with the family, and the patient was placed on comfort care, given that the prognosis of surgery was poor.
Rebecca continued to monitor the patient a few hours later. When she checked on the patient and weaned him off all the pressors, she noticed that the patient was waking up appropriately. She alerted Barry, who was her charge nurse that night, who called me. I assessed the patient, who was at this time following commands.
As a team of nurses, the decision was made, and Barry paged the surgeon, who came from home at the early hours of the morning to reassess the patient. Upon arrival, the family was called again from out of town and informed that the patient had improved in status and would now be a surgical candidate.
Rebecca and Barry worked diligently to prepare the patient for emergency surgery as the OR team was called in. The patient then had a successful repair of the AAA and was released from the hospital days later, alert and oriented, walking out with his family to return home to Pennsylvania.
This patient received this second chance at life due to the diligent efforts of Barry and Rebecca. Their outstanding nursing skills and assessment truly saved a life. Barry came up after surgery to see the patient, who was eternally grateful.
I spoke with the family prior to discharge, and they teared up talking about the amazing experience they had here at TidalHealth Peninsula Regional. They wanted me to thank the nurses who had saved their loved one’s life that night. Barry and Rebecca are nurses who truly made a life-changing impact!”
Ball and Outten were honored with the DAISY Award in a ceremony before their colleagues. They received certificates commending them for being extraordinary nurses, and a sculpture called “A Healer’s Touch,” hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.
To nominate a TidalHealth registered nurse (RN) or licensed practical nurse (LPN) for this award, visit tidalhealth.org/recognition.
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- Barry Outten
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- Rebecca Ball
