Photo (l to r): SMCH nurses, Haley McDonough and Michelle Thoma
Two nurses from Stewart Memorial Community Hospital (SMCH) have been selected out of the six nominated to receive the 2018 DAISY Award. Haley McDonough joined the med-surg team in 2016 and was nominated by a patient’s sister who said, “My brother was special needs. In my mind, it took a very unique person to understand him. Watching and listening to Haley with him put my heart and mind to ease. She was so gentle, comforting and understood his likes and dislikes. She spoke softly to him and remained calm, cool and collected.” Michelle Thoma is the other DAISY Award winner and has been a nurse at Stewart Memorial since last year. She was nominated by a co-worker who said, “I watched as she took care of one particular patient. She spent a lot of time with him, always asking him about his pain. This patient was terminal and she wanted to make him as comfortable as possible. […] His family was from out of state and she spent time with them on the phone, helping them understand his conditions. This is exactly what I think nursing is about: one patient at a time, tending to all of their needs, and becoming their family when there is no family available.” Thoma and McDonough are two nurses from the nearly 2,300 healthcare organizations that have presented DAISY Awards since it was introduced in 1999. The award was initiated in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at the age of 33 from complications of an immune system disease. His family wanted to establish a way to say thank you to nurses across the nation, honoring the work they do to care for patients and their families.
