Salisbury, MD – After more than four decades at what is now TidalHealth and continued service on the health system’s board, Karen Poisker, MSN, MBA, has been honored with the DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award.
Poisker held numerous positions in nursing at then-Peninsula Regional Medical Center before it became part of TidalHealth, starting as a bedside nurse after graduating from the Peninsula General Hospital School of Nursing in 1975. She advanced into many roles, becoming vice president for patient care services/chief nursing officer in 1992, a position she would hold for the next two decades. She later became vice president for continuum services and then vice president for population health before retiring after more than 40 years.
She has continued to serve the community as a member of the Board of Directors of TidalHealth, Inc.
Angie Brittingham, DNP, MBA, RN, CEN, CPEN, NEA-BC, CPHQ, chief nurse executive and senior vice president of patient care services at TidalHealth, started working at TidalHealth while Poisker was the chief nursing officer.
Brittingham said Poisker has left a deep legacy at TidalHealth.
“As a former chief nursing officer, Karen helped shape the nursing profession within our organization, developing and supporting generations of nurses while always keeping patients and our community at the center of the work,” Brittingham said. “Karen’s continued service on our Board demonstrates that same lifelong commitment to TidalHealth.”
The DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award honors nurses who have devoted their careers to compassionate care, mentoring and advancing the nursing profession. Poisker has cared for patients as a nurse, taught other nurses, and served as a nurse advocate and mentor.
She also held administrative roles and was key in the hospital’s evolution through the decades.
In 2003, Poisker was honored with the Maryland Hospital Association’s Nurse Executive of the Year award. She also has a conference room named after her at TidalHealth Peninsula Regional.
Poisker has made an impression on many healthcare professionals and the health system itself.
“I am grateful to stand on the foundation Karen and other nursing leaders built before me, and I have tremendous respect and appreciation for Karen’s decades of leadership, service and dedication to our organization and community,” Brittingham said.
