LEEDS — Catherine Giasson, a nurse executive at the VA of Central Western Massachusetts, has been awarded the Daisy Lifetime Achievement Award for her leadership in caring for local veterans.

This lifetime achievement award has been granted since 2019, honoring nurses who have devoted their lives to caring compassionately for others. Giasson is the 759th recipient of the award and the first nurse in the Massachusetts VA to receive this honor.

“I cannot think of anyone more deserving than Dr. Giasson to receive the Daisy Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Briana Durham, one of the VA leaders who nominated Giasson for the award, in a statement to the Gazette. “Dr. Giasson embodies the very essence of exceptional health care and compassionate service. Her unwavering commitment to our veterans goes far beyond clinical excellence. It’s a profound dedication that touches everyone she encounters.”

Giasson first discovered her calling as a nursing assistant at the VA Boston Healthcare System 36 years ago, going on to serve in a variety of roles including as nurse manager in acute mental health and long-term mental health units for eight years. In 2019, she joined the VA of Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System as an inpatient nurse executive, where she developed a new nursing role to support the nursing orientation program and helped to develop electronic medical records to create a nursing note template for organ donation notifications.

“I just really feel blessed to have worked for the VA for over 36 years now,” said Giasson, who added that she “wouldn’t change a minute” of her time there.

As the associate director of patient care services, a position she has held since 2022, Giasson has worked to improve communication within the nursing staff, championing a new nursing committee structure, establishing quarterly “Nursing Town Halls” and implementing a tiered “huddle system” and leadership rounding — where leaders routinely engage in structured conversations with staff — to promote communication as well as patient and staff safety.

This year, Giasson has been pushing initiatives to promote a better work-life balance among nursing staff. For example, she has aided in a partnership with Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation, which promotes healthy choices among nurses. She has also been working to promote care continuity for veterans at the VA, such as when she advocated to fill leadership gaps in the VA’s four inpatient units by hiring assistant nurse managers for these units.

“Throughout her distinguished career, she has not only provided exceptional medical care but also been a dedicated leader who supports and inspires staff,” Durham stated. “Her leadership transforms patient care from a profession into a calling, mentoring countless healthcare professionals and setting a standard of excellence.”

In fact, one of the most rewarding parts of her job, Giasson said, is mentoring future leaders in nursing. She has taken great pride in mentoring the VA’s nurse managers alongside their assistant nurse managers in hopes that they will step into leadership roles one day themselves. Giasson accomplishes much of this mentorship through quarterly nurse manager meetings, where identified areas of need are addressed through education. These meetings are arranged by a nurse manager committee in which nurse managers identify educational gaps and actively seek out further training.

“There’s no one better to tell me how to fix something than the person doing the job,” Giasson said of this leadership structure, later saying that she believes this kind of shared governance is the future of the organization.

Giasson said that she has had many mentors of her own that have made immense differences for her throughout her career, which is why she sees such great importance in mentoring others. Through her mentorship, Giasson has watched as her staff members have prioritized their own professional development and grown in their careers.

“I’m very proud when I see how they’re proud,” she said.

Advocating for both the VA’s nursing staff and the veterans they care fore have been paramount for Giasson, whose advocacy has frequently brought her to the nation’s capital to call for congressional action improving the VA’s ability to care for its patients.

Her advocacy and leadership were put to the test, as they were for many in the health care field, during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the VA’s Incident Command Team, Giasson pushed for strict protective precautions during the pandemic, as well as daily testing requirements for employees entering the VA’s Community Living Center. Giasson expressed great pride in the fact that her efforts helped to maintain a COVID-free facility from 2020 to 2022.

Giasson continues to be the first person to enter the building in the morning, and the last one to leave it in the evenings, always ensuring that she is available to her mentees and anyone else at the VA who might need her. Giasson said she and her colleagues “have new challenges every day,” but she has loved her time at the Central Western Massachusetts VA, and plans to stay on, leading and overcoming those challenges.

As Durham stated, “the DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award is not just an honor for Dr. Giasson but a celebration of her remarkable journey of healing, compassion, and selfless service to those who have served our country.”

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.