ALBANY, Ga. – Nurses at hospitals across the Phoebe Putney Health System are being honored with The DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s program to recognize and honor the work nurses perform every day. Members of the Southwest Georgia community can take part in honoring special nurses throughout the hospital system.
Each hospital within the system will announce a new DAISY winner periodically, depending on facility. At Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital (both the main and north campuses), a nurse will be selected once a month to receive The DAISY Award based on criteria established by the staff. Phoebe Sumter will name their honoree quarterly. Nurses at Phoebe Worth and Southwest Georgia Regional Medical Center are eligible for an annual award.
Community members, patients and patient families can nominate a special nurse who has impacted them by simply picking up a nomination form located inside facilities throughout the health system, filling it out and dropping it in any DAISY box. Nominations can also be made by logging in to www.phoebeputney.com/daisy and filling out the online nomination form.
The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, CA, and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.
At a presentation given in front of the nurse’s colleagues, physicians, patients, and visitors, the honoree will receive a certificate commending her or him for being an “Extraordinary Nurse.” The certificate reads: “In deep appreciation of all you do, who you are, and the incredibly meaningful difference you make in the lives of so many people.” The honoree will also be given a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa.
One day while Pat was in the hospital, he asked his family to bring him a Cinnabon® cinnamon roll plus enough for all the nurses in his unit. With the help of Cinnabon’s parent company, FOCUS Brands, The DAISY Foundation carries on this tradition by serving Cinnabons to all the nurses in the Award recipient’s unit in thanks for everything they do for their patients and families.
“When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide patients every day and night,” said Bonnie Barnes, president and co-founder of The DAISY Foundation. “Yet these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for the super-human work they do. The kind of work the nurses within the Phoebe Putney Health Systemare called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award.”
“We are proud to be among the hospitals participating in the DAISY Award program,” said Laura Shearer, chief nursing officer at Phoebe. “Nurses are heroes every day. It’s important that our nurses know their work is highly valued, and The DAISY Foundation provides an additional way for us to do that.”
For a complete listing of hospitals currently running the program, please go to www.DAISYfoundation.org
This is one initiative of The DAISY Foundation whose overall goal is to help fight diseases of the immune system. Additionally, DAISY offers J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects and provides assistance to ITP support groups. More information is available on their website www.DAISYfoundation.org.