DAISY Award celebration honors nurses

AUGUSTA, Maine – Celebrating National Nurses Week, MaineGeneral Health recognized its latest and past DAISY Award-winning nurses during a celebration today at the Alfond Center for Health. Honored guests at the event included Bonnie and Mark Barnes, co-founders of the DAISY Award and DAISY Foundation.

The DAISY Award was created by the couple as a way to recognize exceptional care that nurses gave their son, J. Patrick Barnes, who died at age 33 of an auto-immune disease. His family was so impressed with the nurses who cared for Patrick that they created this award to thank nurses everywhere.

MaineGeneral was the first hospital in Maine to adopt the DAISY Award, which thanks nurses for their skill and dedication. Since 2010, 103 MaineGeneral nurses have received the award.

MaineGeneral’s Chief Nursing Officer, Jennifer Riggs, said MaineGeneral seeks to honor nurses with the DAISY Award to recognize their clinical skill, compassionate care, collaboration with team members, and consistent focus on patient and family goals and needs. MaineGeneral currently employs 1,523 nursing staff. They serve the medical center, clinics, long-term care facilities and community settings.

“I cannot thank you enough for your dedication and passion to the nursing profession and for being on the front lines of high-quality patient care,” Riggs said. “I am humbled by your compassion, dedication and uncompromising commitment. You go above and beyond to provide exceptional experiences to our patients and their families every day.”

Mark Barnes told the nurses in the room: “You are heroes – you’re doing something that makes you a hero in the eyes of your patients. You may not think that you’re doing anything special or you’re just doing your job, but I can assure you that your patients will never forget what you do. Every single day you make the world a better place for them. You are in a truly special profession and I can do nothing but tip my hat to you and say thank you for being nurses.”