Jaimie Albert, RN, was honored with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Sarah Bush Lincoln on July 23.
Albert was nominated for making a big impression on a patient who was anxious about receiving care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The patient shared the following story:
“I received exceptional care from all of the nursing staff, but Jaimie really impressed me with her critical thinking skills and her duty as a nurse to advocate for me – her patient. My admission was during the COVID pandemic, and after three days on 4 Medical the providers felt that I needed to be tested for COVID. For me, this was very scary. I was worried about all of the people I had been in contact with; my family, my co-workers and the staff. What if I tested positive? Did I expose someone to this horrible virus? The guilt I began to feel was overwhelming. It was a very scary time for me.
It was during this time that Jamie stayed by my side and advocated for me. SBL had just been approved to complete the rapid COVID testing in the lab. Jaimie asked the provider if this was something that could be completed on me. The results of this test took about an hour instead of the usual 24 hours with the regular testing. The provider agreed, and Jamie continued to provide my care as I was her only patient until the results came back. This meant so much to me as her patient.
During these uncertain times with an unknown virus, Jaimie could have been scared, but instead she put my needs before her own and did what was best for her patient. Thank you, Jaimie, for your excellent nursing care!”
Sarah Bush Lincoln has joined more than 2,700 healthcare facilities by becoming a DAISY Award hospital partner. During the award presentation, Albert 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 receive 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 coordinator, Tracey McCord, RN, at (217) 238-4987 or tmccord@sblhs.org.