The DAISY Award

The DAISY award honors the super-human work nurses do for their patients and families every day.

What is DAISY?

For over 21 years, DAISY has been honoring extraordinary nurses around the world. It all started with Patrick Barnes. The DAISY Foundation was founded right after Patrick died at 33 from complications of ITP, immune thrombocytopenic purpura. His family was awestruck by the care and compassion they were shown during Patrick’s eight-week illness. They wanted to find a way to say thank you to nurses. Patrick’s wife, Tena, developed the DAISY acronym for Disease Attacking the Immune System, their family filed the papers to become a not-for-profit organization and the rest is history.

The body of evidence revealing DAISY’s impact is significant. It is apparent the Barnes family’s effort at expressing personal, heartfelt appreciation to nurses for the important difference they make in all the lives they touch has a powerful effect. Click here (Opens video new window) to learn more about The DAISY Foundation.

Our partnership

This year, WellMed and USMD will present 12 awards to nurses working in Homecare Dimensions, Supportive Care and WellMed- and USMD-employed clinics in north Texas. Licensed nurses, RNs, LPNs/LVNs and advanced practice nurses are all eligible. Patients, families, colleagues, physicians and other staff are encouraged to nominate someone they feel demonstrates extraordinary, compassionate care.

The selection committee will review all nominations and choose a winner.

All nurses who are nominated will receive a copy of their nomination, a congratulatory note and a nominee pin. The first DAISY award will be presented at the beginning of August. Winners will receive:

A Healer’s Touch Sculpture. Each one is handcrafted and signed by the artist. They’re especially meaningful because of the respect the Shona people have for their traditional healers. Shona healers are treasured by those they care for. The well-being and safety of the healer is of community-wide importance.
A signed certificate
A DAISY award pin
Cinnamon rolls

Want to say thank you to a nurse? Nominate them for a DAISY award.

The DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Award is an international recognition program that honors and celebrates the skillful, compassionate care nurses provide every day. The DAISY Foundation was established by the family of J. Patrick Barnes after he died from complications of the auto-immune disease ITP in 1999. During his hospitalization, they deeply appreciated the care and compassion shown to Patrick and his entire family. When he died, they felt compelled to say “thank you” to nurses in a very public way.

Please say thank you by sharing your story of how a nurse made a difference you will never forget!

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Tell us about the nurse you would like to recognize.

Name of nurse you are nominating*

Location where the nurse works*

If known, write the clinic name or address where your nurse treated you. This helps us ensure we identify the right nurse. (Example: WellMed at Metropolitan)

Please share your story of why your nurse is special, providing as much detail as possible. For inspiration, we’ve included a sample nomination below.*

Sample nomination: "Our 88-year-old mother was a patient for 2 weeks. Mom was on a roller coaster, we never knew what to expect. Everything was new and frightening to us as we watched her struggle to live. Through it all, Tami was there, working tirelessly, diligently, helping Mom and us understand issues and ramifications. She patiently explained things to us, sometimes more than once, until we got it. Of utmost importance to her was Mom's comfort. Tami was also concerned about each of us as we went through our own emotional and exhausting roller coaster rides. We looked forward each day to seeing Tami. She obviously cared deeply for Mom. Tami became like family. I wanted to hug her hello and goodbye. Everyday her knowledge and skills were evident. Such as, for 1 tiny example, the day 02 saturation was dropping, chest tubes were in-Tami analyzed the best position to put mom into with those tubes in order to maximize 02 saturation. It worked. Tami's tireless, devoted, and skilled passion for our mother's well being made a huge impression on us. She stood out as a nurse willing and able to go beyond the normal call of duty."

Thank you for taking the time to thank your nurse. Please fill out the information below to complete your application.

Your name*

Phone*

Email*

Relationship*

Attend Celebration?

Please contact me if my nurse is chosen, so I can attend the celebration.

* - Required Fields

If you have any questions, please email TheDaisyAward@wellmed.net.