Photo: DAISY Award Co-Chairs, Bailee Schleisman and Lori Pietig (Standing): Alison Bauer and Scot Ellis
St. Anthony Regional Hospital has announced they will be participating in a program that recognizes nurses for the extraordinary work they do on a daily basis. Nurses from any area at St. Anthony may now be nominated for the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses® by patients, families, friends or colleagues. “A nurse’s calling is more than just a job and often involves helping to save a life, bring a life into this world or holding the hand of a life as they die with dignity,” says Scott Ellis, St. Anthony Vice President of Patient Services and Chief Nursing Officer. “It is important to recognize the extraordinary work that the St. Anthony nurses perform in every area.” The DAISY Foundation, a non-profit organization, initiated the award in 1999 in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at the age of 33 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), an autoimmune disease. The acronym DAISY, stands for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. “When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide patients every day and night,” says President and Co-Founder of the foundation, Bonnie Barnes. “Yet these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for the super-human, extraordinary, compassionate work they do. The kind of work the nurses at St. Anthony Regional Hospital in every department and every area are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of the DAISY Award.” Nominations are reviewed and recipients selected by a committee at St. Anthony Regional Hospital. Each award winner will receive a certificate, a DAISY Award pin and a hand-carved sculpture crafted by artists of the Shona Tribe of Zimbabwe, titled “A Healer’s Touch.”
