Marie Person, RN, was honored with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Sarah Bush Lincoln on January 28.
Person was nominated by a coworker after going above and beyond to provide compassionate care to a patient during a medical emergency. In her nomination letter, her coworker wrote:
“I am so proud to call Marie my nurse. Marie knew something was wrong with her patient and used her instinct and nursing knowledge to do everything in her power to help this patient. Marie called the patient’s medical providers to discuss some abnormalities as well as her own concerns. As the patient deteriorated, an emergency code blue was called. Codes can be so scary, especially for a new nurse, but Marie didn't cower away from the stress. She was able to give information about the patient to all medical providers who rushed in to help during the emergency.
When the patient was moved to another unit, Marie could have easily let it go into someone else’s hands, but she didn’t. She stayed with the patient and did everything she could to help. Not once did she stop showing dedication and compassion to this patient. She trusted her gut and knew exactly what to do without a second thought. That’s why I am so proud to call her my nurse. That’s why she deserves this DAISY award. Marie does everything in her power to make her patients happy and comfortable. She calms their nerves when they are scared and she helps her fellow coworkers any time they ask. Marie is overall a well-rounded nurse, a wonderful coworker and a joy to be around.”
Sarah Bush Lincoln has joined more than 2,700 healthcare facilities by becoming a DAISY Award hospital partner. During the award presentation, Person 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, SBL DAISY interim coordinator, Tracey McCord, RN, at 217 238-4987 or tmccord@sblhs.org.