ECHN’s Quarterly DAISY Award Recipient: Pamela Williams
Meet Pamela Williams, our Quarterly DAISY Award Recipient!
Pam is an Interventional Radiology Nurse, well known to our organization for her years of dedication. Pam has had a remarkable influence on our patients. She comes to work with an attitude to care for our patients as they are her family. She makes herself available to assist in any problem and situation-solving. She laughs with our patients, and she cries with them. She demonstrates extraordinary communication skills with her patients, physicians, and coworkers. She is extremely detail–oriented and knows how to navigate in an emergent situation.
Pam is a hard worker who has the skill of creating a family environment when around our patients and staff. On multiple occasions she has been seen helping patients and staff throughout the hospital – she will not walk by someone without recognizing them and saying hi. She is also the first to jump in and help out when help is needed.
Pam is a true advocate for our patients and for our staff. She is never afraid to speak up if she sees a situation needing attention.
Congratulations Pam!
ABOUT the DAISY Award
D.A.I.S.Y is the acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The DAISY Foundation was formed in November 1999, by the family of J. Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). The nursing care Patrick received when hospitalized profoundly touched his family. The family felt they and Patrick experienced the best of Nursing. Not only did they witness expert clinical skill for a very complex medical situation, but it was the kindness and compassion that the staff showed to Patrick and his family every day. The following quote from the DAISY Foundation website explains further, “We were awed by the way the nurses touched him and spoke with him, even when he was on a ventilator and totally sedated. The way they informed and educated us eased our minds. They truly helped us through the darkest hours of our lives, with soft voices of hope and strong loving hugs that to this day, we still feel”.
After Patrick’s death, the family created the DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses. Their goal was to “ensure that nurses know how deserving they are of our society’s profound respect for the education, training, brainpower, and skill they put into their work and especially for the caring with which they deliver their care”.
Nominations can be submitted by patients and families and those experiences submitted are reflective of an excellent patient and family experience. The foundation cites, “The nomination stories are rich in data that can describe what is important to patients, their families and others who encounter great, compassionate nursing care. By honoring extraordinary acts of compassion, recognition can positively influence the patient’s perception of their experience”.
The quarterly Eastern Connecticut Health Network (ECHN) DAISY award program is for Manchester Memorial Hospital, Rockville General Hospital, Visiting Nurse & Health Services of CT and Woodlake at Tolland staff registered nurses. We are fortunate to have nurses such as Pamela Williams.