The 2023 DAISY Team Award goes to the UHS Labor & Delivery team

UHS has expanded the DAISY Awards beyond individual nurses to include an annual team award.  The team recognition will be made every year during National Nurses Week.  This year the DAISY Team Award goes to the UHS Labor & Delivery team at UHS Wilson Medical Center.

Shepherding though a sacred journey

The Labor & Delivery team has helped many families welcome new members, and have helped other families through extremely difficult times and has done so by living the Values of UHS and the standards of the DAISY Awards program. The team was nominated by a family they helped through the loss of their unborn baby.

The family credits the L&D team for helping them in their darkest moments and helping them see some light in the tragedy. Thanks to the staff, the family was able to hold their baby--cherishing the 12 hours they had with him, with dignity and grace and gratitude--because of the way the nursing staff guided them through. 

The nomination went on to mention Kaitlyn, who came in on her day off to help the mother through her C-section, after helping her through hours of labor.  Meagan stopped to check in on the mom every day.  Mallory was so kind and skillful in helping the family with baby Finn and in helping all of them hold him and give the infant a lifetime of love in 12 hours.  They also spoke about the beautiful pictures to cherish forever because of Mallory.  Marina and Charlotte and Meagan all took the time to speak with the family, helping them each through the soul crushing ordeal.  

"From the dreadful moment we learned of our sweet boy's passing to the moment mom and dad left the hospital, your staff shepherded all of us through this sacred journey," the nomination said. "The love, compassion, support, understanding, and guidance they provided is immeasurable and sustaining.  They helped us see past some of the deepest sadness to find hope and celebration for our sweet boy."

Teamwork on display

The nomination letter also addressed the the UHS Value of Teamwork. In the letter the family stated how in awe they were of the leadership and kindness, and the way the team worked together so seamlessly.

"Everyone worked together, helping each other, professionally and with great kindness and patience and such love shown to all of my family.  You should be incredibly proud of the amazing group of professionals in Labor and Delivery," the letter stated. "They helped us all through this agonizingly difficult time and helped us celebrate our sweet boy with respect, dignity, and so much love.  I commend you as their leaders--you should be very proud."

The family also extended their gratitude for the team of anesthesiologists that cared for the mother. They listened to her concerns and eased her anxieties. The extra time in particular that Dr. Cunningham spent with them, meant so much.

Honoring a team

UHS has been honoring our nurses over the past year by presenting nurses with the DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem) Award, an international recognition program that honors and celebrates the skillful, compassionate care nurses provide every day.

The DAISY Foundation was established Mr. Barnes’ family members after he died from complications of the autoimmune disease ITP in 1999. During his hospitalization, they deeply appreciated the care and compassion shown by nurses.  When he died, they felt compelled to say “thank you” to nurses in a very public way. To learn more, visit DAISYFoundation.org.

DAISY recognizes that, while achieving better patient and family outcomes may start with one individual, it often takes an entire team to implement such advances successfully. The team award is designed to honor collaboration by a team that goes above and beyond the traditional role of nursing to deliver kind and compassionate care.

Nominations encouraged

Nominations are submitted by using a form found on nyuhs.org.  On this form, the person will be able to tell the story of why they are nominating the nurse, while also choosing which UHS Value (Compassion, Trust, Respect, Teamwork, Innovation) the nurse especially displayed.

If you have any questions, please contact Toni Nash at (607) 763-6896 or send an email to daisy@nyuhs.org.