ELKO -- Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital announced today that Mikaela Guenette has been honored as the latest recipient of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. Guenette works in the Labor and Delivery Department at the hospital and was nominated by three different patients during the third quarter of 2025.

One patient shared a story about how Guenette helped her through a difficult delivery experience. Here is her story in her own words...

"Kaela is a truly special nurse who is dedicated to her role as an RN and fully embodies the values of the nursing profession. Being almost a week past my due date I came in to L&D in labor. I was so ready to meet our baby and so excited that it was happening while our family was still in town. Unfortunately, my labor stalled and I wasn’t progressing enough to stay in the hospital without being induced. I was committed to natural labor, and Kaela fully supported this by going above and beyond in getting me into the best and most comfortable positions, offering words of affirmation, and also encouraging my rest. My labor didn’t pick back up, and I was discharged home. I felt extremely defeated and discouraged, but Kaela met me with the perfect energy and the words I needed at that time. She made me feel seen, heard, and reassured. She told me to go get some good food, watch a movie with my family, and trust my body. I was so relieved to have a nurse that was knowledgeable and passionate about an unmedicated birth with minimal interventions. We joked that baby would have to come when she was on shift because it was meant to be. We just clicked!"

"I did all the things she told me to do and, thankfully, that night I went into active labor. When I returned to L&D, Kaela was in the room ready to be my nurse again! The way she shared in my excitement and accepted all my labor and birth plans with no judgement was such a weight off my shoulders. Kaela stayed extremely involved in my almost 3-hour labor. She provided counter pressure through countless contractions, encouraged me constantly, taught my partner and mom how to provide support and counter pressure, and allowed me the freedom to birth how I wanted even if it made her job a little trickier! My baby didn’t give us the time to get an OB provider in the room and had a very tight nuchal cord. Kaela caught the baby, took care of the nuchal cord, and got the extra staff support needed, all while keeping me safe, keeping me updated, cleaning me up, and staying calm. She provided the highest standard of care we could have received and made me feel so strong and confident in the most vulnerable moment a woman can experience. My birth story is one that I prayed for, and Kaela was such a huge part of that. She is truly an extraordinary nurse, and I know she inspires other nurses on every shift she works.”

About the DAISY Award

The DAISY Award was established in 1999 by members of the family of Patrick Barnes. He was 33 years old when he died of an auto-immune disease. The Barnes family wanted to do something positive to honor the nurses who had given Patrick such compassionate care during his lengthy illness. So, they established the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. What began as a “thank you” from one family to specific nurses has grown into a meaningful recognition program embraced by thousands of healthcare organizations around the world. Here at NNRH, we are proud to partner with the DAISY Foundation to celebrate our own extraordinary RNs.