To that end, registered nurses Teresa Sanford and Kimberly Eder have been named the January 2011 recipients of the hospital’s DAISY Awards.
The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses is a national program that honors the compassionate care and clinical excellence. St. Francis localized the program in 2010 to recognize its nurses for their achievements.
Sanford, a nurse with St. Francis Hospice, was cited for work with a dying patient and her family last fall. Specifically, she worked close with the patient’s spouse and family, especially communicating updates to out-of-state children.
“Her [Sanford] taking the time to stay in close touch with the spouse and children, explaining what was occurring was so much deeply appreciated by the family,” said an administrator with St. Francis Hospice.
“After prepping the patient for surgery, it was apparent Kimberly was emotionally moved by this entire situation,” wrote the unit manager who nominated her for the award. “We were all elated to find out the patient did make it through the surgery and her vitals were stable. Clearly, Kimberly was living the mission of the St. Francis health-care ministry that day. I know she provides healing with her hands – and also with her heart. It takes both to be a good nurse.”
The DAISY Award was established by the DAISY Foundation in memory of J. Patrick Barnes who died at 33 an auto-immune disease. His family was so impressed by the clinical skills, caring and compassion of the nurses who cared for him that they created this national award to say “thank you” to nurses everywhere. For more information, go to www.daisyfoundation.org.
To learn more about nursing careers and programs at St. Francis, go to www.stfrancishospitals.org/nursing.
