Kimberly Rizkallah
November 2025
Kimberly
Rizkallah
,
BSN, RN
ICU
Henry Ford Wyandotte
Wyandotte
,
MI
United States
Kim has built a culture where nursing staff feel empowered, respected, and proud to practice—qualities that make her more than a manager, but a mentor and inspiration.
I am honored to nominate Kim Rizkallah, Clinical Nurse Manager for ICU, for the DAISY Nurse Leader Award. She leads with integrity, visibility, and compassion, ensuring staff feel supported and respected. Kim is on the unit daily, listening to concerns, addressing issues in real time, and making sure they have what they need to provide safe, quality care.
Under her leadership, the latest Press Ganey Employee Experience Survey revealed that 81% of staff felt that their manager “cares about them as a person,” and the ICU culture of trust and recognition continues to grow. Kim’s leadership is reflected in the ICU outcomes. She advocates tirelessly for safe staffing, aligning patient assignments with acuity and nurse competencies. As a result of her efforts, the RN turnover rate for 2024 was 7.3%, which is less than half the national benchmark.
In addition, the ICU has achieved remarkable reductions: only one CLABSI event, a 12% decrease in hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPI), and falls reduced to 0.55 per 1,000 patient days—well below national benchmarks—with nine months of zero falls. Patient experience scores have also reached exceptional levels, with multiple months achieving 100% Top Box scores where patients and families reported that nurses “listened carefully” and “treated them with courtesy and respect.”
These achievements are a reflection of her leadership and her belief that recognition should be woven into daily practice. What makes Kim truly deserving of the DAISY Nurse Leader Award is her genuine care for people. She celebrates the staff's successes and supports them in difficult moments. Last year alone, her leadership inspired 27 DAISY Awards, two Honey Bee nominations, and multiple “Good Catch” awards. Kim has built a culture where nursing staff feel empowered, respected, and proud to practice—qualities that make her more than a manager, but a mentor and inspiration.
Under her leadership, the latest Press Ganey Employee Experience Survey revealed that 81% of staff felt that their manager “cares about them as a person,” and the ICU culture of trust and recognition continues to grow. Kim’s leadership is reflected in the ICU outcomes. She advocates tirelessly for safe staffing, aligning patient assignments with acuity and nurse competencies. As a result of her efforts, the RN turnover rate for 2024 was 7.3%, which is less than half the national benchmark.
In addition, the ICU has achieved remarkable reductions: only one CLABSI event, a 12% decrease in hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPI), and falls reduced to 0.55 per 1,000 patient days—well below national benchmarks—with nine months of zero falls. Patient experience scores have also reached exceptional levels, with multiple months achieving 100% Top Box scores where patients and families reported that nurses “listened carefully” and “treated them with courtesy and respect.”
These achievements are a reflection of her leadership and her belief that recognition should be woven into daily practice. What makes Kim truly deserving of the DAISY Nurse Leader Award is her genuine care for people. She celebrates the staff's successes and supports them in difficult moments. Last year alone, her leadership inspired 27 DAISY Awards, two Honey Bee nominations, and multiple “Good Catch” awards. Kim has built a culture where nursing staff feel empowered, respected, and proud to practice—qualities that make her more than a manager, but a mentor and inspiration.