Nurse recognized with Daisy Award

Published 10:15 pm Sunday, December 13, 2009

Judy Fleming, a registered nurse with Hamilton Medical Center’s orthopedic unit, recently received the Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses. Daisy Foundation co-founders Mark and Bonnie Barnes were at Hamilton to participate in the presentation.

“Nurses do special things in their jobs and it’s second nature,” said Mark Barnes. “They say they’re just doing their jobs, but it’s meaningful to the patients.”

The award, presented in collaboration with the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE), is part of the Daisy Foundation’s program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses undertake every day.

“Judy is an excellent nurse and particularly kind and compassionate,” said Niki Haynes, Fleming’s manager at Hamilton. “She reminds me of a cartoon character of the duck floating ever so calmly on the surface of the water but underneath the duck is paddling as hard as he can to stay afloat. No matter how busy or tough a shift may be or how hard Judy may be paddling to stay afloat, she always appears calm, has a smile on face and is saying her favorite three words — ‘It’s all good!’”

Four other nurses at Hamilton were given Honorable Mention recognition during the presentation. They are Joyce Starks, Westcott Center; Celeste McBrayer, Endoscopy Services; Tara Skiffen, Medical Intensive Care Unit; and Lisa Gibbs, Oncology and Inpatient Hospice Unit.

Daisy Garden Awards for Extraordinary Nursing Units were presented to the 2A1 Step-Down Unit, the Renal Unit and Hamilton Hospice. The Daisy Garden Award recognizes entire units for extraordinary care provided to patients.

“When our son was sick, we were so inspired by the care given to him and to our family,” said Bonnie Barnes. “We just had to say thank you for the everyday things they do. We had no idea we’d get to say thank you to this many nurses.” Approximately 460 hospitals around the United States participate in the program.

The not-for-profit Daisy Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, Calif., 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 (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. Daisy is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.