Nurses at Memorial Medical Center were recently honored with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses®. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care they provide patients and families every day.

The DAISY Award recipients at Memorial Medical Center for the third quarter of 2020 are Maria Gallego, RN in the Observation Unit, and Deanne Hobbs, an RN in the Intensive Care Unit. Gallego and Hobbs were nominated by patients or by family members of the patients they cared for in our facility.

“I am so thankful with God for putting this angel nurse Maria to care for me because she has offered plenty of support and has shown empathy towards my situation,” a patient wrote of Maria’s care. “She has taken good care of me and has made me feel at ease throughout my pain. Maria has greatly demonstrated the real love and passion for her profession, and I am thankful that there are still excellent nurses like her.”

“One particular nurse who will always hold a piece of my heart is Deanne from ICU,” a family member’s nomination reads. “My dearest Deanne, I can’t express the gratitude my heart feels for the compassion and love you gave to my father in his last breaths. Watching you calmly stand by him, patiently, lovingly stroke his hair as the hands of his family who were all at the windowsill watching, waiting; there are no words to describe. In that moment, you became an extension of our love, a vessel of compassion and despite the physical barriers between us, one could not differentiate where our bodies ended and yours began; for in that, moment we were one.”

The DAISY Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from 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 patient families.

Nurses may be nominated by patients, families and colleagues. The DAISY award recipient is then chosen by a committee at Memorial Medical Center. Awards are presented throughout the year at celebrations attended by the Honoree’s colleagues, patients and visitors. Each Honoree receives a certificate commending her or him as an “Extraordinary Nurse.” The certificate reads: “In deep appreciation of all you do, who you are, and the incredibly meaningful difference you make in the lives of so many people.” Honorees also receive a DAISY Award pin and a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called “A Healer’s Touch,” hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.

“We are proud to be among the healthcare organizations participating in The DAISY Award program,” said Caryn Iverson, Chief Nursing Officer at Memorial Medical Center. “Nurses are heroes not only during these extremely difficult times, but every day. It’s important that our nurses know their work is highly valued, and The DAISY Foundation provides a powerful way for us to do that.”

Would you like to express gratitude to a Memorial Medical Center nurse that went above and beyond? Nurses may be nominated by patients, families and physicians. To nominate a nurse from Memorial for the DAISY Award online, please visit: DaisyNomination.org/mmclc.