Meet our 2025 Nurses of the Year

Frederick Health is pleased to announce the 2025 Nurses of the Year. Each year, we honor two nurses with this award – one in direct patient care and one in indirect care/administrative. The 2025 winners are:

Lauren Huzzy, Registered Nurse and Clinical Nurse Specialist, Indirect Care Nurse of the Year
Lauren is an invaluable member of the ICU, Nursing Professional Development, and Frederick Health team, working to guarantee positive outcomes for patients throughout the hospital. She is skilled, collaborative and has embraced leadership roles on the Pressure Injury and Central Line Infection Harm Task forces. She navigates challenges with skill and a personal touch, always keeping safety and nurses as her focus.

"Lauren is a team player, empathetic, and focused. Respected by her peers and loved by her patients, she is a delight to have on the Nursing Professional Development team," said Peggy McNeill, PhD, Registered Nurse, and Director of Nursing Quality and Professional Practice

Danielle Fraley, Registered Nurse, Direct Care Nurse of the Year
As a leader in the charge nurse role, Danielle was instrumental in the success of multiple accreditation efforts over the last year – the Magnet® redesignation, Joint Commission, and MIEMSS Stroke Survey to name a few. Detail oriented, an expert resource, and always a team champion, she has also sought to further her professional skills and recently enrolled in Nurse Practitioners schooling. She is a true leader who is dedicated to caring for others.

“Danielle leads her unit while maintaining a bright and positive atmosphere. She can tell you every detail about every patient on her unit and is always there for her team. She steps up to the plate every time. We are lucky to have her,” said Emily Delauter, Department Manager for Medical/Surgical Care.

About Magnet®
For over forty years, Magnet designation is considered the industry gold standard for nursing excellence awarded to a healthcare organization. Frederick Health is the only hospital in western Maryland with this distinction and achieved its second consecutive Magnet designation in 2025. Frederick Health is among the 10% of healthcare organizations in the United States to earn the Magnet honor and is one of only 12 acute care hospitals in Maryland to hold this distinction