Kari Adkins, RN, was honored with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Sarah Bush Lincoln on December 20.
Adkins was nominated for her empathy and commitment to patients. Her nominator wrote in part:
“Kari was asked to care for a patient that had been made comfort care just hours before, and was actively dying. This isn't an ideal situation. Kari went out of her way to do everything she could for this patient's family and to help accommodate them. She was supportive and compassionate with her care. She allowed them to have the privacy they deserved while the patient was in her last moments.
Kari was supportive of this family during their tragic time. While watching the family leave after they had said their final goodbyes, it was obvious they were very grateful for Kari’s care. They thanked her for making the experience better than they had hoped it would be when this time had come for this patient. Kari did a wonderful job caring and advocating for this patient and their family.”
Sarah Bush Lincoln has joined more than 2,700 healthcare facilities by becoming a DAISY Award hospital partner. During the award presentation, Adkins 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.