DAISY Celebration Honors Three Exceptional Nurses
Boulder Community Health’s Nurse Practice Council (NPC) is pleased to announce the first winners of our DAISY Awards. The three honorees, selected from a pool of 50 nominees, were recognized July 24 at a DAISY Day Celebration.
DAISY Awards are given in all 50 states and 24 countries. The award acknowledges nurses as the unsung heroes of health care and puts a spotlight on individual nurses who demonstrate exceptional technical skills and extraordinary compassion.
The NPC, which is sponsoring the award, reviewed each nomination submitted by staff, patients or family members. Jackie Attlesey-Pries, vice president of operations and chief nursing officer at Boulder Community Health, said the awards are about honoring the “unsung heroes” of health care .
“The process for choosing was of course very difficult,” said Attlesey-Pries, who read each nomination submitted. “(The winners) were and will be chosen by ranking by the Nursing Practice Council staff. They used criteria from the Daisy Foundation from blinded nominations submitted. The highest ranked nominations were chosen.”
Introducing the Winners
Suzan Filley, RN (Telephone Triage Nursing – Primary Care)
Nominated by Susan Stuller, RN
“Suzan represents the best in nursing, the art and science of human caring … Recently (Suzan) triaged a 92-year-old gentleman and it was clear from how she spoke, that she had treated him as she would her own parent. I am truly awed by her capacity to care so much about everyone she touches.”
Lori Gordy, RN (CMC ED)
Nominated by Michelle Lee-Mitchell, RN
“Lori has touched the hearts of not only the patients she cares for in the ED but also the staff members she works with. Her compassion and thorough care are felt by patients and family members, which can be seen when patients return just to say thank you … She always puts everyone else’s needs first before her own.”
Angela Lawrence, RN (Nurse Manager - Inpatient Rehabilitation and Nurse Staffing Resources)
Nominated by Karli Hansen, RN
“(Angela) is arguably the best manager of a unit of employees, policies, patients and time that I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. Angela juggles projects very well, but first and foremost, she is a nurse. She has compassion for staff and patients. She looks out for them. She listens. She counsels. She suggests. She shares. And she’s fun.”
At the Daisy Day Celebration, each of the three nominators read their submission story. Cinnamon rolls - the favorite treat of the late Patrick Barnes, whose family started The DAISY Foundation in his honor – were served to guests who attended in Leo Hill. The DAISY Foundation asks that whenever our award honorees smell that wonderful cinnamon aroma, they stop for a moment and think about how special they are.
Photo Caption: (From left: Lori Gordy, RN - CMC ED; Suzan Filley, RN - Telephone Triage Nursing, Primary Care; Angela Lawrence, RN – Nurse Manager Inpatient Rehabilitation and Nurse Staffing Resources; and Jackie Attlesey-Pries, RN, VP of Operations & Chief Nursing Officer). The banner pictured travels to the units of each honoree. ?
Filley, Gordy and Lawrence each received:
- The Healer’s Touch stone sculpture, hand-carved and individually signed by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe, which represents the bond between nurses and patients
- DAISY Award certificate commending them 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.”
- Signature lapel pin and brochure
- Copy of their nomination
Three Awards Each Quarter
The Nurse Practice Council will give three awards every quarter. Anyone can nominate a nurse for the DAISY Award — coworkers, physicians, patients, patient families, visitors, staff members and administrators. All BCH RNs, LPNs and advanced practice nurses are eligible. The NPC will select honorees who consistently demonstrate excellence by upholding BCH’s mission and values, ensuring we deliver the highest quality health care to our community.
Nominate a deserving BCH nurse now with this online form or through nomination collection boxes located throughout BCH. Each nominated nurse receives a special DAISY pin, signifying the strong tradition of nursing pinning ceremonies.
The DAISY Awards are just one of many initiatives coordinated by the NPC. Nurses participating in the NPC provide important input into BCH’s care practices, with the goals of improving patient outcomes, enhancing the patient experience, contributing to staff well-being and elevating the nursing profession.
About the DAISY Award
The DAISY Award (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) celebrates the skilled and compassionate care exhibited by nurses every day. It was established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of the auto-immune disease Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura. The exceptional nursing care Patrick and his family received inspired them to create this unique memorial and The DAISY Foundation. When he died, they felt compelled to say, “thank you,” to nurses in a very public way.
In May, BCH announced its partnership with the DAISY Foundation to introduce the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses to our community. Our NPC is proud to join thousands of health care organizations across the globe participating in this program.
To learn more, visit DAISYFoundation.org.