DAISY Awards
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The DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem) Award is an international recognition program that honors and celebrates the skillful, compassionate care nurses provide every day. The DAISY Foundation was established by the family of J. Patrick Barnes after he died from complications of the auto-immune disease ITP in 1999. During his hospitalization, they deeply appreciated the care and compassion shown to Patrick and his entire family. When he died, they felt compelled to say "thank you" to nurses in a very public way.
"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 St. Charles are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award."
--Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, President and Co-Founder of The DAISY Foundation
Please share the story of a particular act of compassion for which you'd like to recognize a St. Charles Health System nurse. Patients, visitors, nurses, physicians and caregivers may thank a deserving nurse by filling out a nomination form here.
Awards will be presented in November and May of each year. Each DAISY Award honoree will be recognized at a public ceremony in their unit and will receive a certificate, a DAISY Award pin and a hand-carved stone sculpture entitled 'A Healer's Touch.' Additionally, everyone in the unit will celebrate with cinnamon rolls—a favorite of Patrick's during his illness. The Barnes family asks that whenever and wherever nurses smell that wonderful cinnamon aroma, they stop for a moment and think about how special they are.
To find out more about the program, please visit DAISYfoundation.org.