Brittany Bloemer, RN, was honored with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Sarah Bush Lincoln recently. Bloemer was nominated for the passion she has for her job, her empathy she shows for her patients and her dedication. Her nominator wrote in part:
“I was in isolation and Brittany Bloemer, RN, (4 Medical) frequently checked in on me and made me feel not so isolated. She also was the point person and organized the doctor, case management, care team, Gateway, and psych department to get the information needed to make sure a solid plan was in place both as an inpatient, and for getting me to a recovery program. If it wasn’t for her, I am not sure I would have ever gotten anywhere on the phone with the next steps. She helped me take my first step in recovery. She showed care, empathy, and did her job with passion. She was also in constant contact with my wife and kept her updated. Brittany did an outstanding job and I thank her and all of the nursing team.”
Sarah Bush Lincoln has joined more than 2,700 healthcare facilities by becoming a DAISY Award hospital partner. During the award presentation, Bloemer 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.