Lincolnland Home Care nurse Monica Callaway, RN, was honored with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Sarah Bush Lincoln on December 19.
Callaway was nominated after making a big impression on a patient who had a life-altering surgery. In her nomination letter, the patient expressed her gratitude to Callaway for "literally saving her life, both mentally and physically.”
“When I came home from the hospital, Monica was assigned to me as my [Lincolnland] home care nurse. I was so depressed I really did not want to live,” the patient wrote. “I could not have dealt with my situation without her kind care and knowledge.”
In addition to providing exceptional care, the patient is grateful to Callaway for providing much needed emotional support. “Monica pointed out things to be amused about and it would carry me through until the next time she came. I looked forward to her visits. She was so kind and she gave me all the time I needed. Gradually it got to the point where I realized there were other things to live for. Monica is a wonderful nurse who taught me how to smile again and I praise God she was there to help me through it. I could not have done it without her.”
Sarah Bush Lincoln has joined more than 2,700 healthcare facilities by becoming a DAISY Award hospital partner. During the award presentation, Callaway received a certificate, a DAISY Award pin and a unique, hand-carved serpentine stone sculpture from Zimbabwe, entitled, “A Healer’s Touch.”
The DAISY Award was established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at 33 of complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for diseases attacking the immune system.) The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and families.
Patients, visitors, nurses, physicians and other employees may nominate a deserving nurse for The Daisy Award and a nurse will be selected by SBL’s DAISY committee every month to received this special honor. Nomination forms are located at www.sarahbush.org and at all SBL clinics and on patient floors. The forms can be submitted to any Sarah Bush Lincoln staff member, or sent via email to daisy@sblhs.org or mail to Sarah Bush Lincoln, DAISY Nursing Award, 1000 Health Center Drive, Mattoon, IL 61938. For more information, contact SBL DAISY coordinator, Jamie Easton, RN, at (217) 238 -6255 or jeaston@sblhs.org.