Dalton, Ga. – Kim Bailey, a registered nurse at Hamilton Medical Center, recently received the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The DAISY Award recognizes exemplary nursing excellence and is the highest honor a nurse can receive at Hamilton Medical Center (HMC). An award presentation reception was recently held.
Bailey was nominated by a family member of a patient who said Bailey went above and beyond in taking care of the patient. Bailey assisted the patient and family members even when she wasn’t assigned to the patient’s room.
“Kim is an excellent nurse,” said Becky Jackson, RN, Bailey’s manager. “She goes above and beyond on a daily basis. She makes sure not only is the patient taken care of but the families as well. She cries with her patients, hugs them, and gives them her undivided attention. She is a great team player and helps every single nurse on the floor.”
The award, presented in collaboration with The American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) is part of the DAISY Foundation’s program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day.
DAISY Award recipients receive an honorary DAISY pin, a banner to display on their unit, an award certificate, and the Healer’s Touch, a hand-carved sculpture by the Shona tribe in Zimbabwe. The sculpture is especially meaningful because of the profound respect the Shona tribe gives to their traditional “healers.” A Shona healer is affectionately regarded as a treasure by those they are caring for which describes exactly how the DAISY Foundation and Hamilton feel about nurses.
Twenty-six other nurses were also nominated for the award. They include Vanessa Huggins, Andrea Hill, Angela Sheehan, Kelli Bergin, Alison McMurry, Sharon Foster, Angelica Moran, Chris Doneski, Kalli Lear, Jennifer Cavenaugh, Nikki Pasley, Erica Green, Paula Baliles, Meagan Raburn, Celeste Timms, Lisa Baxter, Cheryl Mitchell, Ladonna Bohannon, Joan Addis, Justin Bailey, Brittney Pendergrass, Kathy Kinsey, Wanda Cooper, Tyler Kniss, Kim Ledford, and Sandi Killen.
The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, Calif., and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Barnes 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. Photo: Kim Bailey, a registered nurse at Hamilton Medical Center, recently received the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. Bailey is pictured in the center (holding flowers) with some of the other nominees for the award.