Nurses at Ephraim McDowell Fort Logan Hospital’s Surgical Services Unit were recently honored with The DAISY Team Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day.

The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses has been adopted by healthcare facilities around the world to celebrate nurses for their extraordinary care and compassion. The DAISY Team Award is for nurse-led teams of two or more who come together to solve a specific situation by going above and beyond. Nursing teams may be nominated by patients, families, and colleagues, and they are chosen by a committee of nurses at Ephraim McDowell Health to receive The DAISY Team Award. The DAISY Team Award is presented once each year at a surprise presentation. Each member of the Nursing Team receives a certificate commending them for being an “Extraordinary Nurse.” The certificate reads: “In deep appreciation of all you do, who you are, and the incredibly meaningful difference your teamwork makes in the lives of so many people.” The Team also receives a specially engraved plaque with the name of the Team.

The Surgical Services Unit nurses were nominated by a patient’s mother. She said, “I want to share with you my experience as a mom of a patient. Before he was ever a patient, the OR staff went to the pediatric dentist and explained his situation. The Pediatric Dentistry group graciously agreed to see him as a patient. Within a week he was seen and scheduled for surgery. Upon arrival the front desk person was awesome and the registration person was so kind to him. We took the long way around to the waiting area and the med surgery staff all stopped to say hello to him, calling him by name, making him feel more comfortable. Mind you, not one of these had ever met him before. He was greeted by the staff who did his intake, they were awesome. His IV was started and he never even flinched.

When he asked “no more needles”, they kindly answered his questions. I was called several times during his procedure to let me know how he was doing and exactly what they were doing. After he was back to his room, his first words were “I did a good job, didn’t I?”

Absolutely you did. The OR staff are unsung heroes in my book. They need to be recognized for the amazing job they do and for making a young man feel safe and secure and for making my job as a mom, who is a nurse, forget being a nurse and allowing me to just be a mom. I am forever grateful to all who made his experience so good. Sometimes thanks is not enough. So, please help me by awarding the OR staff as a unit the DAISY award.”

Nomination forms for the DAISY Award are available at various locations throughout Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center, Ephraim McDowell Fort Logan Hospital, Ephraim McDowell James B. Haggin Hospital and other Ephraim McDowell facilities.