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DAISY Award winners receive recognition by Heather Woolwine Public Relations The excitement or luster wears off after the second award or so for many award programs. The MUSC DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Award for Nurses hasn’t succumbed to this apathy curse, as evidenced by the spirit of each ceremony and enthusiasm for honorees.   The winner of the award for October was Mary Troiani, R.N., recently retired from the IOP and BICU. True to the kind words said of her, Troiani delivered freshly baked brownies to her former coworkers when asked to come in for a visit and unbeknownst to her, a DAISY Award ceremony.   “I’m just thrilled, this is such a wonderful concept,” Troiani said. “Nursing means so much to me, I mean, it really means so much to me.”   Troiani’s nomination submitted by Becky Arazi, R.N., read, “I worked with Mary for six years. She worked tirelessly and not only has psychiatric nursing skills, but many years of medical-surgical background experience. Any time a problem arose she could straighten it out. Any time administration or residents needed to lean on someone, they called Mary. She did an excellent job supervising and working with her staff and her patients, despite time away from her family. She supported everyone. Her patients were her top priority.”   For DAISY Award organizers, the element of surprise is half the fun when announcing a month’s winner. For November, Bobby Navarro, R.N., Emergency Services, couldn’t have known how much was done to ensure that surprise. After numerous e-mails and checking lots of schedules, Navarro received the DAISY Award in the presence of her coworkers. Her care for a family member is what prompted Stacey Cook, R.N., to send in a nomination. “My mother was a patient in the emergency room in September. Bobby was very caring and skilled. I am also a nurse at the Medical University, and feel I can judge nursing skills very well. Bobby came twice to medicate my mother for anxiety before an MRI. She was so patient with her. The second time was at the very end of her 12 hour shift. Each time Bobby was extremely nice to my mother. I had no idea just how rough this could be, having never been on this side of the fence until this year. I am grateful that she had an excellent nurse like Bobby Navarro.”   The 2005 DAISY Award winner for the yuletide season accepted her award not only in the presence of almost every nurse from her floor, but also the DAISY Foundation creators, J. Patrick Barnes and his wife, Tena. After their son, Patrick, died from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), the Barneses and Patrick’s wife established the foundation in his memory. The care Patrick and his family received from nurses inspired this unique means of thanking them for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.   December’s recipient, Kris Douglas, R.N., 9PCU, was overwhelmed at the outpouring of admiration from her fellow nurses and the foundation. Presented with the award by the Barnes family, Douglas’ emotions showed how deeply honored she felt. Her nomination read, “Kris Douglas is not only a role model—she is actually the mold that can be utilized to transform the average nurse into a super nurse. She is kind, considerate, compassionate, etc. . . Webster’s doesn’t have enough words to describe her. She goes above and beyond for her patients, families, and staff that are working with her. She then helps others with their responsibilities. She is always found with a smile on her face no matter how much pressure surrounds her.”   Douglas said, “We’re all really a team up here and I couldn’t do my job without everyone. No, we’re not a team, we’re more like family.”     The monthly 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, a continuum of care retirement community in Mount Pleasant.   All DAISY Award winners received an African Shona Tribe sculpture entitled, “A Healer’s Touch,” a framed certificate, and a DAISY Award pin. The DAISY Foundation also delivered cinnamon rolls to all the nurses in each winner’s unit.   MUSC is among 50 medical facilities honoring nurses with The DAISY Award. This is one initiative of the foundation whose overall goal is to help fight diseases of the immune system.      Information is available at http://www.daisyfoundation.org.   Friday, Jan. 6, 2006 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 catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.