LONE TREE, Colo. — Lindsay Mallon, nursing director of perioperative services at HCA HealthONE Sky Ridge, was recently recognized with the DAISY Award for leader of the Year.
Watch our feature story on Lindsay by Denver7's Ethan Carlson in the video below.
Mallon oversees the departments that support the operating room, from pre-admission testing through recovery, and works with surgeons, their offices and nursing staff on surgical cases.
“Healthcare is a huge team sport and, specifically in surgery, it operates very similarly to a sports team, and that’s always been a good area for me to lead into,” Mallon said.
Kristen Fiddes, chief nursing officer at HCA HealthONE Sky Ridge, said Mallon’s approach to leadership sets the tone for the entire department.
“This department obviously loves working for her. They love coming to work for her every single day,” Fiddes said. “She listens, I think, is No. 1. Her nurses know they can come to her for anything, and she’s going to listen to them, and she’s going to do what she can to reduce any barriers to her work.”
That quality matters in a job that can be stressful. Mallon said maintaining a calm presence is a priority.
“I have had great mentors in the nursing world… that have really taught me how to lead and think clearly and be calm and meet the staff where they are and learn how to coach them,” Mallon said. “What I tell the nurses is, 'We want you to come to work and be your best self, that you can be your best self outside of work.'”
The state of Colorado has also taken steps to address nursing workforce needs, with recent legislation that invests more money into nursing schools and streamlines nurse training programs.
“I think the difference between 2022 and now is we definitely are seeing more nurses graduate from nursing school and entering the profession, which is fantastic,” Fiddes said.
The DAISY Foundation was established in 1999 by the members of the family of Patrick Barnes, who died of complications of an auto-immune disease.
“It’s kind of the Super Bowl of nursing, is what we call it,” Mallon said. “I’m just really honored to receive it.”
The recipient receives a sculpture called The Healer’s Touch, representing the bond between nurses and their patients. The sculpture is hand-carved by a Shona artist from Zimbabwe, and work at the DAISY Foundation supports communities in that country.
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