Franciscan Health Munster and Hammond recognize nurses with hospitals’ first DAISY Awards

Franciscan Health Munster and Hammond recognize nurses with hospitals’ first DAISY Awards

Nurses at Franciscan Health Munster and Franciscan Health Hammond have recently been named as the hospitals’ first recipients of the DAISY Award, given to recognize nurses who provide extraordinary, compassionate and skillful care.

During surprise presentations, Patrick Maloney, president and CEO at Franciscan Health Dyer, Hammond and Munster, read letters from patients who submitted nominations, remarking that hearing the positive praise warms his heart.

Mary Linaris, RN, was nominated by a patient at the Franciscan Health Cancer Center Munster. “Mary’s a ray of sunshine in my treatment and in my day every time I see her,” she wrote. “Mary has done for me exactly what a DAISY should do: brighten my day, give me a smile and make me look forward to the good times to come.”

Tim Gomez, RN, was nominated by a patient he cared for in the Franciscan Health Hammond emergency department. “I am from another country. He listened to my stories, which was not part of his job. He came in to wish me well after his shift,” she wrote. “Nurse Tim is a wonderful, caring, compassionate person and caregiver. The world and hospital need more people like him.”

Along with a certificate, Linaris and Gomez were presented with a Healer’s Touch sculpture, a bouquet of daisies and cinnamon rolls. The rolls are a tradition of DAISY Award presentations because they were the favorite treat of Patrick Barnes, whose experience with his nurses inspired the DAISY Foundation. Barnes died of complications of the auto-immune disease Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura at the age of 33. DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.

For more information about the DAISY Awards and the DAISY Foundation honoring nurses internationally, visit www.daisyfoundation.org.