Darcy Doellman is the team leader for the PICC resource service at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. In 2003 Darcy received the Suzanne LaVere Herbst Award for Excellence in Vascular Access Practice, presented by the National Association of Vascular Access Networks. She was honored for "making a substantial contribution to vascular access practice by improving patient outcomes" and "contributing to the science of vascular access." Several times a year, she offers classes on PICC line insertion. Physicians and nurses from as far away as California and London, England have attended, and she is now planning a more comprehensive apprentice program for clinicians wishing to shadow the PICC team for several days.

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is a national model for PICC-line placement. "There are always new things we can study to improve care," Doellman says. "To me 'change the outcome' means identifying ways to provide the safest and most reliable PICC so that we can meet the patient's needs today and in the future." The result is better outcomes for kids who need PICC lines.