Welch Community Hospital honors nurse Tyler Simpson for compassionate care

Welch Community Hospital is shining a light on the kind of nursing that matters most in McDowell County: steady, compassionate care at the bedside when families are facing some of life’s hardest moments. Through its partnership with the DAISY Foundation, the hospital recognized Tyler Simpson for exceptional nursing care, a distinction that speaks to the daily experience of patients who depend on Welch for both treatment and comfort.

The DAISY Foundation lists Simpson as a December 2018 honoree for exceptional end-of-life care. The foundation said Simpson cared for a patient who was dying and was remembered as caring, empathetic and professional, with staff members impressed by her kindness and professionalism. At a rural hospital where each interaction carries extra weight, that kind of recognition lands far beyond one patient room.

Welch Community Hospital is the only acute care hospital in McDowell County and serves patients from Welch and surrounding Southern West Virginia communities. The West Virginia Department of Health says the hospital has 65 acute-care beds, a 24/7 physician-staffed emergency room, a seven-bed ICU, OB-GYN services, respiratory therapy, laboratory and radiology services, a clinical inpatient pharmacy, an outpatient rural health clinic, a surgery clinic, a CPR and ACLS training center, and a 59-bed long-term care unit.

For families in a county with limited medical options, those services are more than a checklist. They are the difference between staying close to home and traveling miles for emergency care, inpatient treatment or long-term support. Hospital leaders have also been working to reinforce confidence in the care delivered there. In November 2023, Welch Community Hospital was named one of 11 West Virginia hospitals recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review for excellent nurse communication, based on HCAHPS patient survey data.

Mark Simpson, the hospital’s chief nursing officer, said that recognition underscored the hospital’s commitment to patient health and well-being. That message matters in a rural health system where trust, staff morale and patient experience are closely linked. Honors like the DAISY award do more than celebrate one nurse. They show patients and families in McDowell County what exceptional care looks like when the pressure is highest and the need for compassion is greatest.