Strickler Delivers “Birthday Twin,” Earns Second DAISY Award December 8, 2025 Good Sam labor and delivery nurse Erin Strickler, RN, remembers that day well, the day she personally delivered the second baby of her nursing career. How could she forget it? It was Strickler’s birthday after all. “I thought, ‘Oh, this might be a birthday buddy,’” Strickler said. “She progressed really quickly, and we had to deliver the baby. It was exciting, but of course, I didn’t make it about me.” Strickler is set to receive a DAISY award, which will be the second of her seven-year career. The nomination came from Richard Norton, whose wife arrived at the hospital in active labor with their fourth child. “To our surprise our OB didn’t arrive in time and Erin ended up delivering our baby after only being in the room for about 15 minutes or so,” Norton wrote. “She was calm, composed and encouraging. Never once did I feel scared about not having our OB there. She took control of the situation while making me feel like I was the only person she was paying attention to.” Strickler credits her success to the strong teamwork in her unit. “We communicate well, build each other up and support one another,” she said. “That makes all the difference.” A Corvallis native, Strickler loves serving her community and often sees familiar faces in the hospital. Outside of work, she enjoys time with her teenage daughter. The DAISY Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at the age of 33 from complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura autoimmune disease. The care Barnes received inspired his family to create the award to thank nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patients’ families. Patients, families and co-workers can nominate a nurse for a DAISY Award at samhealth.org/DAISY. More information is available at daisyfoundation.org.
