In the first DAISY award ceremony, Allison (left) pinned Lindsay Hall, who helped the family during the birth and loss of their infant son Isaac.When Allison’s first child, Isaac, was born critically ill, only her husband, Wes, could accompany him to the Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (RNICU). But Allison was worried and wanted to be with her son, and Lindsay Hall, a registered nurse in labor and delivery in UAB's Women and Infants Center, made that happen.
Hall arranged for her to be transported, still in bed, to the RNICU, where the family remained for the few hours Isaac lived. And to ensure that the time with Isaac did not compromise Allison’s health, Hall never left her side.
“Lindsay was a very bright light during a very dark time, and her actions made a huge difference to Allison, her husband and the entire family,” Hall’s nominator wrote. “I believe her actions also made a difference to baby Isaac — because for his entire life, all he ever knew was his mother’s womb. He knew her voice, her breathing, her scent. He knew his mother loved him. And because of Lindsay, baby Isaac experienced the familiar comfort of his mother being there with him when he left this world.”
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“We want to celebrate nurses that do a really great job. Sometimes we forget those little miracles that go on at UAB every day.” |
Nurses such as Hall are exactly the ones senior administrators in UAB Medicine had in mind when they implemented the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, a national recognition program created in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who received excellent care from nurses before dying due to an autoimmune disease. More than 27,000 health care facilities in all 50 states and 17 countries honor nurses with the DAISY Award.
“We want to celebrate nurses who do an extraordinary job,” said Jackie Martinek, associate chief nursing officer at UAB Hospital. “Sometimes we forget those little miracles that go on at UAB every day.”
Each unit in UAB Hospital, the Kirklin Clinic of UAB Hospital and UAB Hospital-Highlands has a DAISY nomination box, and any nurse can be nominated for DAISY by a peer, a patient, a patient’s family member or loved one or by a physician. A committee of UAB Medicine employees evaluates the nominations and will choose one winner per month for the next year.
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To nominate a nurse for the DAISY Award, look for boxes throughout UAB Hospital, The Kirklin Clinic of UAB and UAB Hospital-Highlands Highlands, or email or call Cheryl Hall,chall@uabmc.edu or 205-975-9051, to request a nomination form. |
“DAISY provides ideas on how to set up your selection criteria,” Martinek said. “Their biggest is what they call the ‘Kleenex test.’ If it’s something so powerful that it touches your heart in a way that would almost bring tears to your eyes, you probably have a DAISY nurse.”
To nominate a nurse for the DAISY Award, look for nomination boxes in UAB Hospital, TKC or UAB Highlands, or email or call Cheryl Hall at chall@uabmc.edu or 205-975-9051 to request a nomination form. Send completed forms to Hall or India Alford at ialford@uabmc.edu or via interoffice mail to Quarterback Towers 530.
