The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, CA, 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. The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.
At the time the program, the Barnes family could not have anticipated that The DAISY Award would come to be regarded as a strategic tool for recruitment and retention and would be adopted by healthcare facilities all over the U.S. and beyond. As of December 12, 2011 all fifty states and 1,006 healthcare facilities are committed to the DAISY Award.
The DAISY Foundation allows its hospitals to organize their DAISY award to fit their organization. Community Hospital elected to open this award to all staff who exhibit extraordinary acts of compassion, service, and/or care to patients, families, and/or staff. The selection committee looks for the nominees to fit into categories of Advocacy, Compassionate Care, Professionalism, and Commitment to Excellence and rates each nominee accordingly to select a winner each quarter. At a presentation given in front of colleagues and the leadership team of the hospital, the honoree receives a certificate, goodie bag, a bundle of daisies, a giant cinnamon roll, and a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, which is hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa.
In our first year, Community Hospital had 17 nominees for the DAISY award comprised of 9 nurses, 1 CNA, 1 Nuclear Med. Tech, 1 facilities staff, 1 unit secretary, 2 EVS staff, 1 ER tech, and 1 food services staff.