DAISY AWARD

Sarah Eckert, a registered nurse in WGH’s critical care unit, was given the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurse.

Eckert was nominated by a patient’s family member, Alice Wiles, whose sister was a patient at the unit.

“My 71-year-old sister was a patient in Warren General Hospital for about nine or ten days. She has been struggling with in and out of hospital stays for the past month, dealing with many issues…heart, cancer and pneumonia. Sarah met us at the door of CCU and has been nothing but caring, helpful, skilled, knowledgeable, and compassionate with my sister and family,” Wiles said in her nomination. “The care and genuine compassion went above and beyond… I cannot say enough about Sarah. She truly became like family!”

Photo submitted to the Times Observer Shown, left to right, are IMSAC Manager Denise Yost, award winner Sarah Eckert and ECC/CCU Manager Kelsie Watkins.

According to a release on the award, “the DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic puerperal, a little-known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. 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.”

A committee at the hospital chooses award recipients from nominations made by patients, their families and employee’s colleagues.

“Each honoree receives a certificate commending her or him as an ‘Extraordinary Nurse,'” according to the release. “Honorees also receive a DAISY Award pin and a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe”

BEE AWARD

Jessica Uber, a certified drug and alcohol counselor at the hospital, was awarded the BEE Award.

Uber was nominated by a recent hospital patient.

“I was reluctant to get detox at WGH for fear that I wouldn’t get the help I truly needed,” the patient wrote in the nomination letter. “I couldn’t have been more wrong. The 5 days I spent in the detox unit were incredible. The care I received from everyone was amazing but one individual in particular I can’t stop thinking about…Jessica Uber. I have thought about her every day since I left detox and how much she has truly impacted my life. I often wonder where I would be today if not for her.”

According to a release on the award, “the BEE, Being Exceptional Every Day, Award was developed to honor any hospital employee who is not a licensed nurse at Warren General Hospital. This Award was created by nursing leadership to compliment the DAISY Award and honor patient care staff that continuously goes above and beyond for patients and their families every day. Recognizing non-nursing staff who demonstrate our core values here at Warren General Hospital is important to us.”

Like the DAISY Award, a committee at the hospital chooses award recipients from nominations made by patients, their families and employee’s colleagues.

“Each Honoree receives a certificate commending her or him for Being Exceptional Every day,” according to the release. “Honorees also receive a BEE Award pin, a generous gift card at the hospital’s Window Box gift shop, four free lunches at the cafeteria, eight hour awards day off, and a beautiful, very rare crystal called the Bumble Bee Jasper, found at Mount Papandayan in Indonesia.”