The Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) announced three winners of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, an award which recognizes nurses for the amazing efforts they perform every day. The winners of the awards, Rebecca Vickers, RN, Brittany Corey, RN and Deborah Jones, RN, each received a hand-carved statue, a certificate and scholarship opportunities for continued learning.
Each winner is selected from a pool of nominations submitted by coworkers, patients and/or family members, then evaluated by a group of peers from across the health system.
Rebecca Vickers, RN, works on the Inpatient Behavioral Health unit and received two nominations which included the comments below:
“Rebecca is a huge team player, she is always available when staff or patients need her and she always has a smile on her face. If patients need a therapeutic conversation, Rebecca will stop what she is doing to assist patients who need her.”
“Rebecca is selfless, and always has a smile on her face. She is always willing to help anyone, coworker or patient. She is the first coworker to offer assistance when anyone needs anything. She goes far above and beyond to make our unit a better place.”
Brittany Corey, RN, works in the ICU and received three nominations which included the comments below:
“Brittany checked in our family throughout the day while we were waiting for our brother to come in from Colorado before putting our dad on comfort care. Before she left for her shift she printed off a small copy of our dad’s heartbeat and gave one to each of my siblings and mom. It meant so much to us. A gesture that brought us to tears. She was just so kind and caring.”
“Her caring, compassion, and knowledge was instrumental in making the worst day of our lives a little bit easier. We are forever grateful for her.”
“Brittany was the day shift nurse who cared for my husband in his final days of comfort care. She went out of her way to make it easy for our family to be with him and to say our goodbyes privately and to have all the time and things we needed to get through a very difficult time. She made sure his last days on earth were as comfortable as possible and I want to thank her for all she did to help us through this very difficult time.”
Deborah Jones, RN, works at the Waterville Medical Office. Her nominator had this to say:
”My family has had Debbi as a nurse for approximately 18 years. She has been the one constant in an ever growing office. She continues to show how much she cares by checking in on other family members (my children are also her patients) if I have an appointment. She follows up calls in a prompt manner. Debbi has been supportive in all aspects. When we are walking back to our rooms she is a welcoming face treating us with a smile and a wave if she is on the phone. She will peek her head in and ask about the kids, myself, school, work, etc., and I have seen her be just as pleasant with every other patient at the Waterville office.”
The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, California, and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura, a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. 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.
“When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide patients every day and night.” said Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, co-founder of The DAISY Foundation. “Yet these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for the super-human work they do. The kind of work the nurses at MVHS are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of the DAISY Award.”
###
