Kelli Hughes, RN, was honored with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Sarah Bush Lincoln on November 4.
Hughes was nominated by a co-worker for going above and beyond to provide compassionate care to her patients. Her co-worker shared the following story:
“Kelli went above and beyond for a patient who went home from the hospital on hospice care after finding out her cancer had spread. Devastated by the news, Kelli was very attentive and took the time to inform and comfort the family. The pharmacy was about to close when the patient was discharged and Kelli really wanted to ensure the patient got her pain medication. Kelli went above and beyond and spent extra time to complete the discharge and to ensure there was time to answer their questions and to educate them on all of the changes. She was very empathetic and caring.”
Sarah Bush Lincoln has joined more than 2,700 healthcare facilities by becoming a DAISY Award hospital partner. During the award presentation, Hughes 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.