Erica Lauder of Box Butte General Hospital was recently honored with The DAISY Award® For Extraordinary Nurses. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's programs to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day. The nomination submitted read, “Excruciating, unbearable pain I felt after a recent shoulder surgery. I just couldn’t stand it. A nurse began massaging my shoulder to work out the fluid trapped in my shoulder. I knew she had to have other things to do but she sat there and rubbed my shoulder until the pain was gone. It was Erica. My hero. I’m nothing special so I know she would have done the same for any patient. I will never forget what she did for me. I feel all the nursing staff at BBGH are the best in the world but what she did for me that day still brings me to tears years later. The care and compassion that all nurses should strive to provide. I’ve thanked her and told her she is my hero, but I’m not sure she’ll ever know much that meant to me and still does. Thanks again, Erica. I know there is a special place in heaven for you.”
The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. 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. 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. Said Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, Doctor of Humane Letters (h.c) and Co-Founder of The DAISY Foundation, "When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide patients every day and night. Yet these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for the super-human work they do. The kind of work the nurses at BBGH are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award.” Said Chief Nursing Officer, Jordan Colwell, DBA, MSN, RN, “Erica is a homegrown nurse that strives each day to provide quality patient care to our patients when she is filling in as a staff nurse. As a Nurse Manager, she is an unsung hero that others look to for support and guidance. Health care needs more nurses like Erica Lauder.”
For a complete listing of healthcare organizations currently running the program, please go to http://DAISYfoundation.org
In addition to the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, the Foundation expresses gratitude to the nursing profession internationally in over 5,500 healthcare facilities and schools of nursing with recognition of Nurse-led Teams, Nurse Leaders, Nurses Advancing Health Equity, Nursing Faculty, Nursing Students, Lifetime Achievement in Nursing and through the J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects, Medical Mission Grants and their new Health Equity Grant programs. More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org.
