Myra Ely, RN, was honored with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Sarah Bush Lincoln on February 28.
Ely was nominated after making a big impression on a patient during a recent hospital stay. Here’s an excerpt from her nomination letter:
“Myra is an outstanding nurse. She went beyond the call of duty when I experienced a scary episode in the hospital. She responded immediately with efficiency and patience. She never left my side, even after the doctor arrived. They both stayed beside me and reassured me.
Since I have extreme anxiety, I was starting to panic. She kept calm and immediately I kept calm. She went so far as to do practically everything for me. As soon as I pushed the call button, she was there. After this awful episode, she kept monitoring me every five minutes. Myra is not only caring and efficient, but is able to multitask and make comfort and kindness a top priority. I could never thank her enough!”
Sarah Bush Lincoln has joined more than 2,700 healthcare facilities by becoming a DAISY Award hospital partner. During the award presentation, Ely 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.