Jones Memorial Hospital asks for Daisy Award nominations
How do you thank a nurse who gone above and beyond all expectations to provide care – and caring – not only for the hospitalized patient, but for the patient’s family? One way is to nominate that nurse for the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.
An international recognition program, the DAISY Award was inspired by the nurses caring for 33-year-old J. Patrick Barnes during the eight weeks he was hospitalized before passing away in 1999 from an autoimmune disease. His family wanted to find a way to recognize the providers of the skillful and compassionate care Patrick received and the kindness shown to his family during that time. The name DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.
The nomination period for the 2022 DAISY Award at Jones Memorial will be open until mid-December. Nominations can be submitted electronically using the link on the hospital website, jones.urmc.edu.
Paper nomination forms can be found throughout the hospital.
“Nominations are open to staff and the public,” explained Ms. Draper. “All nominations must tell a story that includes why you are nominating the nurse and include as much detail as possible about how that nurse went above and beyond expectations and how that made a difference.” Inpatient nurses and outpatient nurses are eligible for nominations.
Here is an example of a winning nomination for University of Iowa transplant nurse Kaitie Luitjens, BSN RN, who won the award in 2021: “My sister passed away from cancer six weeks before I entered the hospital for my transplant. Because of COVID-19 restrictions and my disorder, I was unable to attend her funeral or to even visit her graveside, which is out of state. In talking with Kaitie about everything, she told me she is from a town very near to where my sister lived and is now buried. On one of her trips back to her hometown, Kaitie offered to stop by the cemetery and take a picture of my sister’s graveside for me. That has touched me in so many ways, that someone would do that for me and for my sister. It doesn’t seem like “thank you” is enough, and I want Kaitie to know her kindness will never be forgotten by me or my family.”
“All nominations received will be reviewed by a committee and the selected nurse will be announced in May during the Hospital Week festivities,” explained Ms. Draper, noting that all nominees will receive a DAISY pin. “This is a very distinguished award with the winner recognized nationally and presented with a unique sculpture called The Healer’s Touch.” The winning nurse is also eligible for educational opportunities and grants from the DAISY Foundation.