Nicole Winnett, RN, was honored with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Sarah Bush Lincoln on April 28.
Winnett was nominated by a colleague for her critical thinking, patient advocation, and compassion while helping patients during their hospital stays. In her nomination letter, she wrote in part:
“Nicole is one of the most extraordinary nurses that I have had the pleasure of working with. If I ever become half of the nurse that she is, I will know that I have accomplished a lot! Nicole is a great team member, as she is always willing to lend a hand to coworkers and share her knowledge with us. She has also transitioned to night shift at times, so she can help train our new nurses.
Nicole advocates for her patients through close communication with providers that positively impacts patient outcomes. She thinks and acts very quickly, which has undoubtedly helped many patients.
Nicole cares immensely for her patients. She treats them like they are family, always going above and beyond to make sure they are comfortable and happy. Earlier this year, we had a patient who enjoyed reading, but had nothing to read during their hospital stay. On top of that, the patient could only read large print. Nicole went to the bookstore and bought several books and a magnifying glass for the patient.
Nicole is a nurse that I aspire to be like one day. She is a nurse that I would want to care for me or my family if we needed medical care. It is evident that she puts her heart and soul into providing holistic nursing care for every patient.”
Sarah Bush Lincoln has joined more than 2,700 healthcare facilities by becoming a DAISY Award hospital partner. During the award presentation, Winnett 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.