Return to Main Menu

Award seeks to recognize everyday nursing excellence Beginning this month, nurses at MUSC Medical Center will be honored with The Diseases Attacking the Immune System (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 and is co-sponsored by Sandpiper Retirement Community in Mount Pleasant.   To submit a nurse’s name, go to the MUSC Intranet home page (http://www.musc.edu/medcenter/formsToolbox/daisy-award.htm).   In addition, nomination forms will be available to all nursing units and can be placed in the yellow “DAISY” drop boxes located at the information desks in the North Tower, Clinical Sciences Building, Children’s Hospital, Rutledge Tower, Institute of Psychiatry, and Charleston Memorial Hospital.                                                              The award is open to all registered nurses employed by MUSC and submissions for the first award must be received no later than July 15.   The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation, based in Glen Ellen, Calif., was established by J. Mark Barnes and his family in memory of his son, J. Patrick Barnes. In late 1999, Patrick, 33, died 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 inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and their families.   One day each month, a nurse will be selected by the Nurse Alliance Leadership Council to receive The DAISY Award.  At a presentation given in front of the nurse’s colleagues, the honoree will receive an African Shona Tribe sculpture entitled, “A Healer’s Touch,” a DAISY  Award pin, and a framed certificate commending her or him.  On the same day, The DAISY Foundation will deliver cinnamon rolls to all nurses in the unit in thanks for everything they do for their patients and families.  Cinnamon rolls were a favorite of Patrick’s, and he frequently asked his father to bring them to the nurses as his way of saying thanks.   “When my son Patrick was critically ill, my family and I experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide acutely ill 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 are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award,” said Barnes, president of The DAISY Foundation.    “We are proud to be among the hospitals participating in the DAISY Award program,” said Marilyn Schaffner, R.N., chief nursing officer. “Nurses are heroes every day. It’s important that our nurses know their work is highly valued, and The DAISY Foundation provides a way for us to do that.”   Jean Tilley, Sandpiper Retirement Village general manager, added, “We are proud to partner with The DAISY Foundation in honoring nurses, who are the heart of health care. The DAISY Award is the perfect way to express our support and gratitude to those extraordinary individuals in the nursing profession.”   MUSC is among 50 medical facilities currently honoring nurses with The DAISY Award.  This is one initiative of The DAISY Foundation whose overall goal is to help fight diseases of the immune system.  Additionally, DAISY has programs to help fund research to improve treatment and ultimately cure ITP, contribute to bone marrow and blood drives, and provide support for ITP patients and their families.    More information is available at http://www.daisyfoundation.org.     Friday, June 17, 2005 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.