FARMINGTON — Franklin Community Health Network has joined other MaineHealth campuses to become a DAISY Award Hospital Partner to honor nurses for that award.
It is also launching the BEE (Be Exceptional Every Day) Award for recognizing the vital importance of non-nursing care team members.
The DAISY Award is an international program that rewards and celebrates the extraordinary clinical skill and compassionate care nurses give daily, according to a news release from Jill Gray with the health network.
The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization established by J. Patrick Barnes’s family members in memory of Barnes. He died at age 33 in 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura, a little-known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The care Barnes and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this means of thanking nurses for making a difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.
Each DAISY honoree will be recognized at a public ceremony in their unit and will receive a certificate, a DAISY award pin and a hand-carved stone sculpture.
Each BEE honoree will be recognized at a public ceremony in their department and receive a certificate and BEE Award pin.
“Patients and their family members, visitors, nurses, physicians, and our own care team members can nominate a deserving nurse for the DAISY award and any care team member who supports patient care — physical therapist, dietary aide, nursing assistant, patient safety assistant and many others — are eligible for the BEE Award,” said Deanna Orfanidis, chief nursing officer at Franklin. “We believe these awards will bring meaningful recognition to our care team and communicate our profound gratitude to the recipients.”
The health network is asking for the public’s help in sharing their story of how a nurse or other care team member made a difference in their care or that of someone they know.
Black nomination boxes containing Daisy and Bee nomination forms have been placed on the Franklin campus in waiting areas for easy access. Nominations can also be submitted at fchn.org/recognize.
For additional information, call Tania Dawson, manager of clinical operations and the DAISY coordinator, at 207-779-2554.