Editor's Page: A Special Way to Honor Your Special Nurses

Restaurant gift cards are nice, but if you’re looking for a way to honor your nurses for their extraordinary compassionate and skillful care in a way they’ll cherish long after the free lunch, check out the DAISY Award program.

More than 3,500 healthcare facilities and schools of nursing in all 50 states and 21 other countries honor nurses with the DAISY Award. Close to 125,000 nurses have been honored, including Laurie Maher, RN, an orthopedics nurse at Bryn Mawr (Pa.) Hospital.

Ms. Maher’s nomination from a patient noted: Laurie went above and beyond for me during my entire stay on her unit. Her compassion is just unbelievable and her knowledge and professionalism are beyond compare. After my procedure and upon admission, I was in unbearable pain, but Laurie made sure my needs were addressed right away and my pain was managed correctly. Thank you, Laurie, for everything!

Patients, their families or colleagues can nominate a nurse for a DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses (daisyfoundation.org) each quarter.

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.

The DAISY Foundation provides materials like posters, pamphlets and other materials that create awareness of the program throughout your facility — including a cool banner to hang in your unit.

At Bryn Mawr Hospital, every quarter a committee reviews the numerous nominations it receives and gives a DAISY Award to the most outstanding nominee, says Toni Acello, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, director of perioperative services at Bryn Mawr.

“All nominated nurses get a DAISY pin and can read their nominations to see the great things people said about their service,” says Ms. Acello.

It’s no surprise that nurses don’t see why you’re making such a big deal over them. After all, caring for patients is what they do and who they are.