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Learn how honorees “exemplify the very best of nursing leadership and practice." 

Congratulations to the UVA Health University Medical Center nurse leader who's been honored with the national 2026 American Nurses Association (ANA) DAISY^Ⓡ Award for Nursing Ethics in Leadership at the 2026 Ethics of Caring National Nursing Ethics Conference.  

On April 17 in Los Angeles — Dea Mahanes, DNP, APRN, CCNS, CCRN, CNRN, HEC-C, FNCS, APP-CNS for neuro-critical and neuro-intermediate care, received this national award that recognizes a nurse leader supporting professionals whose compassion and clinical practice demonstrate the importance of human values and ethics in nursing as defined in the ANA's Center for Ethics and Human Rights Code of Ethics for Nurses — and The DAISY Foundation’s focus on extraordinary, compassionate care.

Mahanes has been a neuroscience nurse for 30+ years, a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) for 22 years, and a member of the UVA Ethics and Moral Distress Consultation Service for more than a decade. Mahanes is also a triple Hoo: earning her BA in Psychology and returning to complete her BSN and MSN from the UVA School of Nursing. She received her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2018. Mahanes specializes in neurocritical care, spinal cord injury, and clinical ethics — with a special focus on clinician-family communication supporting high quality care and shared decision making. 

“I am so honored and humbled to be recognized by The DAISY Foundation and the ANA for ethics in leadership," says Mahanes. "This award affirms my belief that as a CNS and clinical ethicist, I can foster an ethical practice environment through systems-level contributions as well as working directly with patients, families, and teams."

Spheres of Impact

As a CNS, her role focuses on supporting evidence-based practice within the three spheres of impact: patient and family, nurse and interprofessional teams, and the health system. In addition to addressing clinical care needs, her CNS practice centers on supporting high stakes, ethical decision‑making; mitigating moral distress; and translating professional values into clinical and organizational action across the continuum of neuroscience and critical care. 

Her scholarly activities include multiple national presentations and publications in neuroscience nursing and ethics. Mahanes coauthored the Neurocritical Care Society’s guidelines for the management of devastating brain injury and served as a chapter editor for the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses’ Core Curriculum text.  

‘Unwavering Integrity’ and More

Deb Zimmerman, CEO, The DAISY Foundation, says this year’s ANA DAISY Awards honorees “exemplify the very best of nursing leadership and practice. Their commitment to ethical decision-making, patient dignity, and compassionate care strengthens teams, advances systems, and sets a standard for our profession to follow.” 

The DAISY Foundation selected Mahanes for her ethical leadership impact across direct care, policy, education, and scholarship: “Whether navigating the complex care of patients with rare neurological disorders, transforming brain death and circulatory death system protocols, or mentoring nurses and interprofessional colleagues locally, nationally, and internationally — Mahanes remains consistent in unwavering integrity, compassion, and visionary influence.” 

Beyond individual cases, Mahanes has led system‑level change that translates ethical principles into sustainable practice. She played a key role in revising UVA Health’s brain death and circulatory death protocols, reducing variability, strengthening alignment with national standards, and centering patient dignity and family trust. Through her co‑leadership of the Organ Donation Committee and collaboration with LifeNet Health, she advanced ethical organ donation practices across the organization. The DAISY Foundation hails that her work “bridges bedside care and organizational leadership, ensuring that ethical principles guide decisions at every level.” 

‘The Care We Deliver and the Culture We Uphold’  

“Ethical leadership is at the heart of everything we do in Nursing,” says Kathy Baker, PhD, RN, NE-BC, FAAN, Chief Nursing Officer, UVA Health University Medical Center and Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, UVA School of Nursing. “We are so fortunate to have a leader like Dea at UVA Health to help guide our efforts and so excited she is being recognized nationally for her contributions.”

"Dr. Mahanes [BSN ’94, MSN ’03] exemplifies the ethical leadership, compassion, and service that define our profession,” hails Marianne Baernholdt, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, Dean, UVA School of Nursing and UVA Health Professional Nursing. “We are deeply proud to see her recognized with this national honor — a distinction that reflects her extraordinary career and the values at the heart of nursing.”

“Through her CNS practice, Dr. Mahanes brings ethical clarity, compassion, and courage to complex care. She guides patients and families through uncertainty while shaping systems that uphold dignity, professional integrity, and patient‑centered decision‑making. I am truly thrilled for Dea to receive this well‑deserved national recognition,” says Kim Elgin, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC, PCCN, CMSRN, FCNS, FAAN, Advanced Practice Provider Director and Assistant Professor of Nursing.

“In the most difficult moments — when decisions are complex and emotions are high — Dea is the steady presence to which teams turn. She brings deep expertise and compassion — helping patients, families, and clinicians navigate care with dignity and clarity. She exemplifies the very best of clinical nurse specialist practice — bringing ethical leadership to the bedside, team, and system every day and shaping the care we deliver and the culture we uphold at UVA Health,” says Susan Ketcham, MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, CPAN, Manager, Advanced Practice Provider – Clinical Nurse Specialist, UVA Health University Medical Center.