Jackie Whitenack, RN, 4 South, has been named a DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses winner at SSM Health St. Agnes Hospital. The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses® is part of The DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care they provide patients and families every day. 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 Purpura (ITP), 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. Nurses may be nominated by patients, families and colleagues. The award recipient is chosen based on specific criteria to receive The DAISY Award. Awards are presented to one recipient on a quarterly basis at celebrations attended by the honoree’s colleagues, patients and visitors. Whitenack was nominated by a patient and family member, who was grateful for the care given by Whitenack during a hospitalization with a bowel blockage. The patient wrote:
She showed continual compassion, while meeting all my medical needs. But also showing a sense of humor over when the stress and pain became overbearing, and pain became knowing that I was a man with a strong sense of humor. It eased and lessened the misery of the situation. Strangely the story does not end at the hospital. We were walking into a restaurant, Jackie and her family members were exiting the same restaurant when she saw us entering. She was so overjoyed that she hugged each of us. She goes above and beyond caring for the patients entrusted to her care. We were deeply touched by her compassion.
During a brief ceremony, Whitenack was recognized by Tami Schattschneider, vice president of Patient Services/chief nursing officer at St. Agnes Hospital. Whitenack received a certificate commending him as an “Extraordinary Nurse.” The certificate reads: “In deep appreciation of all you do, who you are, and the incredibly meaningful difference you make in the lives of so many people.” 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. “When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide patients every day and night,” according to Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, president and co-founder of The DAISY Foundation. “Yet these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for the super-human, extraordinary, compassionate work they do. The kind of work the nurses at St. Agnes Hospital are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award.” More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org.
