New Award Recognizes Extraordinary Nurses at Slidell Memorial Hospital
(August 3, 2022 – Slidell, La.) – Community members can now nominate nurses at Slidell Memorial Hospital for The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses®. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate care nurses provide patients and families every day.
Patients, families and colleagues may nominate nurses via the Slidell Memorial website: slidellmemorial.org/awards-and-recognition. The award recipient is chosen by a committee at Slidell Memorial, and awards are presented throughout the year at celebrations attended by the honoree’s colleagues, patients and visitors. Each honoree receives a certificate commending them as 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." Honorees also receive a DAISY Award pin, and a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.
“We are proud to be among the healthcare organizations participating in The DAISY Award program. Our nurses go above and beyond every day to care for our patients. It’s important that our nurses know their work is highly valued, and The DAISY Foundation provides a way for us to do that,” said Kimberly Walker, RN, MSN, chief nursing officer-Slidell division, which includes Slidell Memorial Hospital and Ochsner Medical Center – Northshore.
The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. 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. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.) 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.
"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, extraordinary, compassionate work they do. The kind of work the nurses at Slidell Memorial Hospital are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award,” said Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, Doctor of Humane Letters (h.c) and co-founder of The DAISY Foundation.
In addition to the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, the Foundation expresses gratitude to the nursing profession internationally in more than 5,300 healthcare facilities and schools of nursing with recognition of nurse-led teams, nurse leaders, nurses advancing health equity, nursing faculty, nursing students, lifetime achievement in nursing and through the J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects, Medical Mission Grants and their new Health Equity Grant programs. More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org.