Brittni Blake, RN, was honored with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Sarah Bush Lincoln on March 18.
Blake was nominated by a patient for her thorough and proactive care while helping her through the delivery of her child. In her nomination letter, she wrote in part:
“This was my second time having Brittni as my labor and delivery nurse. She was amazing both times. During my delivery, Brittni listened to my concerns and advocated for me, while comforting and encouraging me. I had some concerns about getting an epidural because of my previous experience – my blood pressure dropped dangerously low with my firstborn, and I did not want to experience that again. Brittni took the initiative to discuss my concerns with the anesthesiologist prior to me getting the epidural. She made me feel heard and taken seriously.
Brittni stayed by my side and closely monitored my blood pressure. Sure enough, my blood pressure began dropping, but because of Brittni’s attentiveness, it was caught early. I received the medication I needed, and my blood pressure quickly returned to normal. She not only excelled in the big things, but the little things too – making sure we were comfortable, our drinks were full, etc. Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the little details, but they make a big difference. Brittni provided me with full physical and emotional support during my delivery experience. This is who she is as a person and not just what she does for a living. SBL should be proud to have such a wonderful nurse who goes above and beyond with patient care.”
Sarah Bush Lincoln has joined more than 2,700 healthcare facilities by becoming a DAISY Award hospital partner. During the award presentation, Blake 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 interim coordinator, Tracey McCord, RN, at (217) 238-4987 or tmccord@sblhs.org.