November and December DAISY Award winners celebrated

A program to recognize the care and compassion of extraordinary nurses continues at UHS with Paula Covert, BSN, RN, and Nancy Kirchner, BSN, RN, CWOCN, being named the November and December winners of the DAISY Award! Due to the pandemic and holidays, the celebrations for these wonderful nurses were delayed. This week Paula and Nancy were recognized and presented with the award for the achievement, and enjoyed cinnamon rolls, a symbolic treat in honor of Patrick Barnes, whose experience inspired the award. 

Read below to see why these nurses were recognized with this prestigious honor.

November DAISY Award Winner: Paula Covert

Paula, the nursing team Leader at UHS Primary Care Endwell was nominated by the mother of a patient she cared for. The patient, Colleen, had fainted while getting a flu shot the year prior. Coming in for her shot the following year, Colleen was very nervous and this is when she met Paula and told her about her concerns and fear. Paula was very compassionate and understanding, explaining to Colleen that this is common, and she does not need to feel embarrassed or afraid. She had Colleen lay on the table before giving her the flu shot, had juice bags and candy ready and talked to her the entire time to distract Colleen while she gave it. Immediately afterwards, Paula gave her juice and candy, lifted her legs and made her feel very safe. She sat with Colleen for about 10 minutes afterwards as well, talking about everything and getting to know Colleen just to be sure she was ok before she left. Now, every time Colleen needs to get any type of shot, as soon as she enters UHS, she is already on Paula's radar, and Paula quickly attends to Colleen the same way as before. Colleen now has no fear of shots and does not faint anymore because of Paula and her methods. Colleen had to get a shot at an outside pharmacy once and immediately told the pharmacist of Paula's way of making her get through it, so the pharmacist accommodated her request. 

"Paula at UHS Hooper Road, Endwell NY is more than just a nurse, she has become like family to us!" said UHS Patient Colleen's mother, "This was about 5-6 years ago and now anytime we see Paula even outside of UHS she is very genuine when she asks how her girl is doing at college. She has quickly become like family to us and we are extremely grateful for her care and compassion to Colleen. THANK YOU PAULA! We are forever grateful and do think of you as one of the family!"

December DAISY Award Winner: Nancy Kirchner

Nancy, a UHS Hospitals wound ostomy continence nurse, was nominated by the wife of a patient she cared for. The patient, Jon, was in the hospital for more than three months (December 2020- March 2021) and unfortunately developed a pressure injury during his stay. The Wound Ostomy Continence (WOC) Team was involved in Jon's care throughout his stay in the ICU and then Krembs 4 at UHS Binghamton General Hospital.  The entire team was excellent and the patient's wife wanted to personally recognize Nancy for being compassionate, collaborative, and including her in Jon's care. At first, Jon's prognosis was not positive, but everyone on his care team gave him a chance and did what they knew to do.  She specifically wanted to recognize Nancy because she was the one who was there for them the most.  Nancy was the one who showed her the pressure injury.  Jon required a wound vac for months. 

"I appreciated the continuum of care that Nancy provided and the relationship Jon and I developed with her," said Jon's wife. "Nancy taught me how to care for Jon and his wound so that he could eventually be discharged home.  I felt it was important to let Nancy, the Wound Care Team, and UHS know that Jon's pressure injury is now healed."

Congratulations and thank you to both Paula and Nancy for going above and beyond for their patients and showing how we live our Values every day here at UHS.

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 the Seattle man died from complications of the auto-immune disease ITP in 1999. During his hospitalization, the family members deeply appreciated the care and compassion shown to Patrick and his loved ones. When he died, they felt compelled to say thank you to nurses in a very public way. To learn more, visit DAISYFoundation.org. 

Started at UHS in April 2021, the award recognizes nurses who are nominated by anyone in the organization - patients, family members, other nurses, physicians, other clinicians or staff - anyone who experiences or observes extraordinary care being provided by a nurse.

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 displayed.

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