For NSICU, DAISY Award represents team effort

Published on Wednesday, January 17, 2018

By: Bruce Coleman

For the first time since the Diseases Attacking the Immune System (DAISY) Committee at UMMC began selecting recipients of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, an entire health care team has received the honor.

A team in the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit was recognized for its care of a “super critical patient” who “essentially coded” from the moment the patient was admitted to the unit, according to Faith Duggar, an NSICU inpatient nurse who nominated the group.

“My neighbors showed up and did what we always do – help get the admit completed,” Duggar wrote in the nomination. “But before long, when we realized how sick (the patient) was, word traveled fast and every single nurse, new grads included, did at least one round of CPR on (the patient).”

According to Duggar, many life-sustaining infusions were initiated, blood products and platelets were given, lines were placed and lab work was done, all of which was input into Epic.

“We went through two code carts,” wrote Duggar, who credited Dr. Gilbert Mbeo, assistant professor of neurology, for remaining calm, collected, effective and efficient while providing care for the patient and teaching residents throughout the treatment cycle.

“They saw him handle it so smoothly,” she wrote. “I pray they remember that.”

Duggar wrote she had no doubt the patient would not have survived without all of the team members who provided care. As a result, the first DAISY Team Award was presented Jan. 12 in the NSICU to Mbeo; Brandi Nester, nurse manager; Lucas Sandroni II, charge nurse; Tonya Jones, nurse practitioner; nurses Hannah Case, Andrew Bailey, Stephanie Farrior, Thomas Rahaim, Ally Anne Phillips, Morgan Joseph, Celia Richardson, Valerie Fagan, Duggar, Melissa Jackson and Bobby Wilkerson; and Jay Hoffman, respiratory therapist.

Charlotte Cockrell, project manager in Nursing Quality, Development and Professional Practice, said this was the first time an entire team has been nominated for a DAISY Award at UMMC.

“DAISY Team Awards recognize that, while an idea to achieve better patient and family outcomes may start with one individual, it often takes an entire team to implement successfully,” Cockrell said. “The DAISY Team Award is designed to honor collaboration by two or more people, led by a nurse, who identify and meet patient and/or patient family needs by going above and beyond the traditional role of nursing.”

Established in 2000 by members of the family of former patient Patrick Barnes, the DAISY Foundation presents the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses to the “unsung heroes of our society who deserve far more recognition and honor than they receive” as a “thank you” to nurses across the country.

About 1,700 health care facilities in all 50 states and in 11 other countries honor their nurses with the DAISY Award.

The DAISY Committee at UMMC reviews nominations every two months and selects up to two winners each cycle who meet the criteria for going “over and beyond the expectations of a nurse.” The DAISY Team Award is presented once annually.

For more information or to nominate a nurse for a DAISY Award, click here.