Jere Latham, RN, was honored with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Sarah Bush Lincoln on December 7.
Latham was nominated for her empathy and dedication. Her nominator wrote in part:
“My mom was diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer this summer. Life became a scary whirlwind. She resided in a town one and a half hours away from me. We wanted SBL Lincolnland to care for her and when the time came to move her closer to me, we knew service could continue in my town.
When Jere entered the house, we felt that everything was going to be okay. She was professional, kind, patient, empathetic, knowledgeable, and always had a smile to brighten our day. We were lucky that she remained my mom’s nurse once we moved my mom to my town. That brought us comfort. I am an RN as well, and I am thankful that this nurse explained the process, medications/orders, etc. to me.
She was a great educator for mom and me, and went above and beyond, calling me past closing time when she was not on call to let me know that she had contacted the doctor for a pain medication. She always listened to us and investigated what would be the next best mode of treatment. Mom’s time was short – two and a half months after the diagnosis, but we thank Jere so much for guiding us.”
Sarah Bush Lincoln has joined more than 2,700 healthcare facilities by becoming a DAISY Award hospital partner. During the award presentation, Latham 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.