The DAISY Award is an international recognition program for patients, families, and staff to thank and honor their special nurses who provide outstanding compassionate care with clinical excellence.
OUR DAISY WINNERS!
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We are proud to announce that Heidi Schleiger, RN is our most recent DAISY Award winner for the extraordinary care she showed her patient.
From Heidi’s nomination:
“I went to the ER with very severe abdominal pain. Heidi took excellent care of me. Fast, efficient, very professional, and compassionate. Before I knew it, she had medicated me and I was feeling 1000 times better. She listened carefully to what I had to say, and kept me informed of her communications with the ER Doctor regarding the plan of care for me. A fantastic ER Nurse. I hope she gets recognized for the Daisy award. Thank you.”
From Heidi’s Director Nicole Newberry, MSN, RN
“Heidi joined the ER as an RN Resident in 2022. Ever since her first day she has shown dedication to providing clinically skilled nursing care with a smile. She consistently makes the time to connect with her patients or their families to inquire about their understanding or questions or make sure they have what they need for comfort. I am glad this patient took the time to formally recognize your daily efforts. Thank you for all you do!”
From CNO Dori Unterseher MN, RN
“Heidi began her RN career in the Emergency Department just over a year ago and she has worked hard to earn a spot on the team. She definitely lights up the room with her smile. Being recognized by a patient for her compassion and care is an honor well deserved. I am glad she chooses to be here.”
Heidi, thank you for being an inspiration to us all and an extraordinary nurse. You truly deserve this DAISY Award!
The DAISY Award is an international recognition program started in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Pat’s family experienced first-hand the difference his nurses made in his care through clinical excellence and outstanding compassionate care. The family created The DAISY Award to express gratitude to nurses and to enable other patients, families, and staff to thank and honor their special nurses.
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We are proud to announce Jacob Howard, RN - AIS is our most recent DAISY Award winner for the extraordinary care he showed his patient.
From Jake’s nomination:
“I was a patient in AIS. Jacob was my nurse. He absolutely went above and beyond to make sure I was comfortable. Checked on me every half hour and took extra special care to make sure all procedures were done correctly. Even wheeled me out to my car in the parking lot. I couldn't ask for better care. A real credit to his profession and your hospital.”
“Congratulations Jake on being our 2nd Quarter DAISY award winner – nominated by one of your patients who told us how you went above and beyond in his patient care. He noted you are a credit to your RN profession and to HRHCH. I couldn’t agree more. I’ve known you since you began as a new RN in 2014 and watched as you mastered skills, first in Med/Surg, then in the Emergency Department, and now in Ambulatory Infusion Services. Every day I see you advocate for your patients and you provide the one-on-one compassionate care that positively affects their lives. Thank you for choosing to be a part of our team at HRH.” --Dori Unterseher MN, RN, CNO
Jake, thank you for being an inspirational and extraordinary nurse. You truly deserve this DAISY Award!
To nominate an extraordinary nurse/nurse practitioner please visit: https://www.ghcares.org/daisy
The DAISY Award is an international recognition program started in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Pat’s family experienced first-hand the difference his nurses made in his care through clinical excellence and outstanding compassionate care. The family created The DAISY Award to express gratitude to nurses and to enable other patients, families, and staff to thank and honor their special nurses.
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We are proud to recognize Becky Wilppone, RN - Family Birth Center as our DAISY Award winner for the extraordinary care she showed a Family Birth Center patient.
From Becky’s nomination:
“I came into Labor and Delivery expecting to deliver my daughter in a few hours minimum. I was unsure if I wanted any pain medications for my delivery but thought I had time to decide. Minutes after I arrived my water broke and it was go time. My daughter was born about thirty minutes later. I can easily say it was the most pain I have ever experienced in my life, I was scared and unsure. Becky was there the entire time for absolutely everything I needed and reassured me that I would be okay. Becky made my experience so much better than I could have ever imagined. She gave me the confidence to deliver my beautiful daughter, and helped me clean up afterwards. Becky is by far one of the most amazing, caring and respectful nurses I have ever met.”
Becky began her employment at HRH as an RN on 8/1/1989 in the Emergency Department (ED) and in 1995 she transferred to the Family Birth Center (FBC). I first met her as the night shift Charge RN in the ED when I arrived in 1992. Becky impressed me then, and she still does, with her expert knowledge, her always calm demeanor which is especially appreciated in emergent and critical situations, and above all her genuine warmth, caring, and compassion for her patients. Everything she does centers around them and their families. Our Mission, Values, and Standards are not just words to Becky – she lives them and models them each day. I am glad she chooses to be here. Dori Unterseher MN, RN, CNO
Becky, thank you for being an inspirational and extraordinary nurse. You truly deserve this DAISY Award!
To nominate an extraordinary nurse/nurse practitioner please visit: https://www.ghcares.org/daisy
The DAISY Award is an international recognition program started in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Pat’s family experienced first-hand the difference his nurses made in his care through clinical excellence and outstanding compassionate care. The family created The DAISY Award to express gratitude to nurses and to enable other patients, families, and staff to thank and honor their special nurses.
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Congratulations Julie Moramarco, RN - Surgery!
The care you showed is a true inspiration. Thank you for your dedication to our patients and your extraordinary compassion.
Paraphrased from Julie’s Nomination: An older patient of Dr. Giffords needed care, she had developed an ulcer that needed debridement, and clear to the team that she needed a lot more personal care, which was not being adequately addressed in her current living situation.
After the procedure was completed, initiated by Julie who washed and trimmed her heavily matted hair, the amazing surgical staff went to work in gently cleaning up the patient. Trisha McDougall, Alicia Morris, and Cheryl Thompson all joined in to help in cleaning her up everywhere else. John Cribbs replaced her tenuous IV, which was a very kind thing to do as she would be needing it for several days.
“I was so profoundly touched by the sweet kindness and dedication that everyone showed in joining in to help this patient. I was moved to tears. It was one of the most emotionally satisfying work experiences that I have ever been involved with, and I remain deeply grateful to the amazing staff for their assistance in going above and beyond to care for this woman's entire physical being, and not just her ulcer.”
Julie, thank you for being an inspirational and extraordinary nurse. You truly deserve this DAISY Award. It is also important to recognize the entire team who went above and beyond to show what compassion truly is. Thank You All!
To nominate an extraordinary nurse/nurse practitioner please visit: https://www.ghcares.org/daisy
The DAISY Award is an international recognition program started in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Pat’s family experienced first-hand the difference his nurses made in his care through clinical excellence and outstanding compassionate care. The family created The DAISY Award to express gratitude to nurses and to enable other patients, families, and staff to thank and honor their special nurses.
Delvin Groat, RN
Critical Care
“Delvin always goes above and beyond for all of his patients…”
Complete this form to share your story of how a nurse made a difference in your care or that of someone you know:
Learn More About the DAISY Award
In late 1999, at the age of 33, Patrick Barnes awoke with some blood blisters in his mouth. Having survived Hodgkins Disease twice, he was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with the auto-immune disease, ITP (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura). Pat and his wife, Tena, had just had their first child two months before he became sick.
Said his father, Mark Barnes, "We are so blessed that we were able to spend the eight weeks of his hospitalization with him and his family. During those weeks, we experienced the best of Nursing. We were there to see the clinical skill that dealt with his very complex medical situation, the fast thinking of nurses who saved his life more than once, and that nursing excellence that took years to hone to the best of the profession. But frankly, as a patient family, we rather expected that Pat would have great clinical care. That was why he was in the hospital. What we did not expect was the way his nurses delivered that care - the kindness and compassion they gave Pat and all of us in his family every day. We were awed by the way the nurses touched him and spoke with him, even when he was on a ventilator and totally sedated. The way they informed and educated us eased our minds. They truly helped us through the darkest hours of our lives, with soft voices of hope and strong loving hugs that to this day, we still feel.
"Just days after he died, we began talking about what we would do to help fill the giant hole in our hearts that Pat’s passing had left. Tena came up with the acronym, DAISY, standing for Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem, and we filed our papers to become a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. As we discussed what to do in Patrick’s memory, we knew that first and foremost, we needed to say Thank You for the gifts nurses give their patients and families every day, just as we had experienced.
"We created The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses and piloted the program at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, whose nurses cared for Patrick during the last weeks of his life. Our goal was to ensure that nurses know how deserving they are of our society's profound respect for the education, training, brainpower, and skill they put into their work, and especially for the caring with which they deliver their care. At the time we started the program, we could not have anticipated that The DAISY Award would come to be regarded as a strategic tool for nurse recruitment and retention and would be adopted by healthcare facilities all over the U.S. and beyond."
Our participants’ administrators tell us that as a recognition program, The DAISY Award is "inspirational," "a great morale booster," "an excellent tool for nurse retention," "a way to develop role models." They find it so meaningful that many have created their own DAISY Award displays in their lobbies, banners for their nurses' stations, scrapbooks of recipients, feature presentations at their National Nurses Week ceremonies, and permanent plaques. Realistically, we cannot project the effect The DAISY Award can have on the worrisome nursing shortage. However, it is apparent that our effort at expressing personal, heartfelt appreciation to nurses for the important difference they make in all the lives they touch is having a powerful effect.
Today, we are proud to honor Nurses wherever they practice, in whatever role they serve, and throughout their careers- from Nursing Student through lifetime achievement.
About Patrick
Everyone who met Pat even once was touched by his positive spirit and his sense of humor. Twice a survivor of Hodgkin's Disease, Pat was driven by a desire to befriend others and help them in any way he could. His legacy is clear: whenever he came across anyone in need, he never turned his back. He reached out to comfort, to make them feel okay. Pat was a natural mentor, sharing his phenomenally positive outlook on life with a wide network of friends and family around the country with whom he stayed in constant contact. The DAISY Foundation was established to keep his very special spirit alive.
Pat and his wife Tena, now Co-founder, Vice President of The DAISY Foundation, had a baby girl, Riley, just six weeks before he developed symptoms of ITP.
