Hamilton nurse honored with DAISY Award

Published 8:30 am Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Jose Brillo, a registered nurse in Hamilton Medical Center’s (HMC) Cardiac Telemetry unit, recently received the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The award recognizes exemplary nursing excellence and is the highest honor a nurse can receive at HMC.

Brillo was nominated for the award based on his team player attitude, responsiveness, commitment, selflessness, compassion and exceptional care.

The award, presented in collaboration with the American Organization of Nurse Executives, is part of the DAISY Foundation’s program to recognize the superhuman efforts nurses perform every day.

DAISY Award recipients receive an honorary DAISY pin, a banner to display on their unit, an award certificate and the Healer’s Touch, a hand-carved sculpture by the Shona tribe in Zimbabwe. The sculpture is especially meaningful because of the profound respect the Shona tribe gives to their traditional “healers.” A Shona healer is affectionately regarded as a treasure by those they are caring for which describes exactly how the DAISY Foundation and HMC feel about nurses.

Seventy-two other nurses were also nominated for the award. They include Michael Obear, Randy Clark, Krishna Bemis, Karen Torres, Cassidy Thompson, Wanda Garner, Sarah Chance, Cassie Armstrong, Lesleigh Middleton, Maci Gaddis, Edith Sanchez, Martha Rodriguez, Cassidy Judd, Brenda Chapman, Kristin (Candice) Ketchum, Sharon Arp, Corrie Eldridge, Amanda Davis, Terra Partee, Erika Norton, Shane (Riccy) Carroll, Amanda Cargal, Scott Cavanaugh, Jamie Hall, Onelia Lofty, Zach Henson, Guadalupe Lawrence, Mackenzie Manley, Ashley Barmore, Amy Townsend, Amy Neighbors, Allison Roberts, Crizel Gabay, Estefany Alvarez, Connor Sims, Leah Gladden, Jessica Allen, Daniel Love, Jason Harrod, Jaime Simulis, Teresia Williams, Valencia McBayne, Maria Nunez, Angela Brown, Renee Dixon, Diana Heredia, Anna Fleming, Emily Allen, Jordan Kittle, Emily Cheek, Brett Byrd, Karah Thompson, Summer Wilson, Brittany Coffey, Sabrina Carter, Ryan Gutierrez, Aaron Pack, Sara Clayton, Kaitlyn Blankenship, Erin Hawkins, Tori Payne, Joann Johnson, Crystal Wyatt, Stephanie Bergeron, Hannah Atkinson, Emily Bryant, Clara Cross, Leanne Evans, Chris Satterfield, Will Owens, Rachael Johnson and Emily Everett.

The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, Calif., and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Barnes died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon autoimmune disease. DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem.