Emanuel Medical Center Launches DAISY Award Program for Nurses

Turlock, Calif. – Emanuel Medical Center is excited to announce it has launched this year’s series of The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses and is now accepting nominations.

The DAISY Award is a special program that recognizes the incredible work that nurses display on a daily basis, and recognizes those who go above and beyond for their patients and families.

“We witness our nurses providing extraordinary care for our patients every day, and this allows them to be recognized formally by their patients and loved ones,” said Kathy Van Meter, Chief Nursing Officer at Emanuel Medical Center. “We have countless nurses at Emanuel who deserve recognition for their work, and this program puts the spotlight on the excellent care they provide.”

Emanuel Medical Center encourages anyone who wants to thank a nurse for the care they received to nominate them for a DAISY Award. Nomination forms are available online.

An acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem, The DAISY Foundation was formed in November 1999, by the family of J. Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). The nursing care Patrick received when hospitalized profoundly touched his family.

While spending his final weeks in the hospital, the DAISY website says Patrick’s family experienced the best of nursing: “We were there to witness his nurses’ clinical skill that dealt with his very complex medical situation, their fast thinking that saved his life more than once, and the nursing excellence that took them years to hone to the best of the profession. But frankly, as a patient family, we rather expected that Patrick would have great clinical care. What we did not expect was the kindness and compassion they showed Patrick and all of us in his family every day. We were awed by the way the nurses touched him and spoke with him, even when he was totally sedated. The way they informed and educated us eased our minds, and their sensitivity to what we were going through made a great difference in our experience in the hospital. They truly helped us through the darkest hours of our lives, with soft voices of hope and strong loving hugs that to this day, we still feel.”

After Patrick died, the family created The DAISY Foundation and The DAISY Award: “We wanted to give patients, families, and co-workers an easy way to express their gratitude for nurses who provide extraordinary compassionate care. And we wanted the program to honor nurses all year long.”

DAISY proudly honors nurses wherever they practice, in whatever role they serve, and throughout their careers – from nursing student through lifetime achievement. There are currently more than 5,000 healthcare facilities and nursing schools in all 50 states and 31 other countries and territories that honor nurses with The DAISY Award.

Nurses can be nominated by anyone in their organization – patients, family members, other nurses, physicians, clinicians and staff – anyone who experiences or observes extraordinary compassionate care being provided by a nurse.