Emily Bahr, RN, SSM Health at Home Hospice – Fond du Lac, has been named a DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses winner. 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. Bahr was nominated by a colleague who wrote:
“Where do I even start with explaining why Emily deserves this DAISY Award? She is one of the sweetest, kindest, most caring nurses I have ever had the pleasure of working with. She trained me when I first started in hospice, and she is why I am the nurse I am today. She is truly working in the right profession and specialty with her compassionate bedside manner for not only her patients but her family members who are arguably going through one of the hardest times in their lives. She is always going above and beyond to ensure that her patients are comfortable and that families feel confident with caring for their loved ones as they pass. No one is more deserving for the DAISY Award than Emily.”
Bahr was recognized on March 13 during a brief ceremony. She received a certificate commending her 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 SSM Health at Home – Hospice are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award.” More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org.
