Ashley Gainey - Kettering Health Network, Fort Hamilton Hospital

Ashley Gainey began her nursing career at 19 years old when she graduated as an L.P.N. from Butler Tech in 2007. She spent the first 11 years working as a home care nurse for special needs children, absorbing the life lessons she learned from each of her young patients about perseverance and strength. In 2018, she graduated summa cum laude from Cincinnati State College as an R.N. In June of 2018, Ashley began working for Kettering Health Network at Fort Hamilton Hospital, and just seven short months later she was nominated for a DAISY Award. Ashley is the perfect example of what the award represents. She exudes positivity and has this ability to make each patient feel as if they are her only patient. She goes above and beyond for her patients, sometimes staying after her shift to comfort, and even cry with a patient who has received a devastating diagnosis until family members could arrive. During this year of uncertainty, she has remained a positive role model for all other staff on the unit. “Be the nurse that you would want,” she advises new nurses. “Also, if you are ever feeling overwhelmed, as with most things in life, this job takes a village, and you are never alone.”