EXTRAORDINARY NURSES RECOGNIZE AT NORTHERN INYO HOSPITAL

By Angie Aukee, NIH Director of Community Development,
Marketing & Grant Writing

Nurses at Northern Inyo Hospital are being honored with The DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day.

A commencement celebration was held on Friday February 15th in the main lobby of the new hospital, where nurses were formally introduced to the program by Interim Director of Nursing, Sharon Tourville and Nursing Supervisor Lisa Erwin.

Anyone (patients, family members, colleagues, etc…) can nominate an extraordinary nurse for this internationally recognized and prestigious award. Twice a year, a nurse will be selected from the nominations by a committee at Northern Inyo Hospital to receive The DAISY Award.  Northern Inyo Hospital has nomination forms for The DAISY Award located in several departments and areas around campus, and strongly encourages the public to participate in this program.  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. The first DAISY Award ceremony at Northern Inyo Hospital will occur in conjunction with Nurses Week  this coming May.

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.

One day while Pat was in the hospital, he asked his family to bring him a Cinnabon(r) 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.

Said Bonnie Barnes, President and Co-Founder of The DAISY Foundation, “When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide patients every day and night. Yet these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for the super-human work they do.  The kind of work the nurses at Northern Inyo Hospital are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award.”

Said Angie Aukee, Director of Community Development at Northern Inyo Hospital, “We are proud to be among the hospitals participating in the DAISY Award program.  Nurses are heroes every day.  Given the current national nursing shortage, The DAISY Award could not be launched at a better time.  It’s important that our nurses know their work is highly valued, and The DAISY Foundation provides a 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<http://www.daisyfoundation.org/>.