In Lindsay Halloran’s mind, going to work every day as a Spartanburg Medical Center NICU nurse is one of the greatest honors of her life. 

Her patients’ parents describe her as compassionate, caring, skilled, committed and even like family to some of her closest patients. 

“Having a baby is supposed to be one of the happiest times of your life, and when we get involved, it gets to be one of the scariest times of your life, so it’s an honor to get to walk alongside parents during that hard time and take care of their babies,” said Halloran, 24. 

Halloran was named the Jo Ann McMillan Outstanding Nurse of the Year for Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System in May. She was selected out of 1,000 nominations throughout the system as part of the DAISY Award program that recognizes nursing excellence. 

Halloran and four other Spartanburg Regional nurses were honored for their dedication and commitment to caring for patients at a recognition ceremony on May 9 at the Spartanburg Regional Foundation. 

The award ceremony coincided with Nurses Week, which celebrates and recognizes the hard work and dedication of nurses. 

One DAISY award winner was selected from each hospital and received $1,000. Halloran received an additional $1,000 as the system-wide Outstanding Nurse of the Year winner. Both are made possible through the Spartanburg Regional Foundation’s Jo Ann McMillan Fund. 

The DAISY of the Year award is a nationally recognized program first established in 1999. Spartanburg Regional began participating in DAISY in 2017. 

The 2025 winners were:  

• Jeremy Hockgeiger, RN – Union Medical Center  
• Lindsay Halloran, RN – NICU  
• Catie Moore, RN – Hospice Home  
• Elisabeth “Liz” Rottach, RN – Med Surg, 4th Floor  
• Anna Teaster, RN – ICU 

"You understand the sacrifice, courage and care it takes to take care of patients,” Shelly Sinclair, Spartanburg Regional Foundation senior director of philanthropy, said to the room of winners, friends, family and leaders. “You have the belief and power that care is changing lives, and you do that every day.” 

Treating patients like family 

Halloran’s DAISY nomination was from the adoptive parents of twin girls who went through a lengthy healthcare journey after a premature birth. After many interventions, one of the newborn girls died from complications from surgery. The other newborn went on to spend 133 days in the NICU at Spartanburg Medical Center. 

The parents wrote that they experienced their lowest lows over the course of their 5-month journey. But they also experienced incredible highs, they said, primarily through the compassionate care from Halloran.  

“The outlook for her that day did not look promising, but we firmly believe that the only reason we still have our precious daughter with us to this day is because of this nurse’s quick identification and action that resulted in (her) getting the care she needed,” the nomination read. 

If you have received outstanding care, send a letter or ask about DAISY nominations at the nursing unit. You can also nominate online at: DaisyFoundation.org/daisy-award/thank-your-nurse-nomination.  

To donate to the Spartanburg Regional Foundation in honor of a caregiver, please visit RegionalFoundation.com/ways-give/online-giving/honor-caregiver.