Last week, two remarkable nurses at Iowa Specialty Hospitals and Clinics (ISH) were honored with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses®. Out of the more than 20 ISH nurses who were nominated for the award, OB nurse Samantha Sandvig and OB Nurse Leader Jennifer Mewes both took the award for the first quarter of 2021.
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.
The award is given out quarterly at ISH. Nurses may be nominated by patients, families, and colleagues. The award recipient is chosen by an ISH committee. All nurses who are nominated receive a DAISY Award signature lapel pin in honor of being recognized. The award recipient is presented with a certificate, lapel pin, a hand-carved stone sculpture of A Healer’s Touch, and cinnamon rolls to share with their department.
ISH Cindy Hunter Chief Quality Officer said, “We are proud to be among the healthcare organizations participating in The DAISY Award program. Nurses are heroes every day. It’s important that our nurses know their work is highly valued, and The DAISY Foundation provides a way for us to do that.”
This quarter’s DAISY award winners both say they were surprised by the honor. Samantha Sandvig, who lives in Pocahontas, was nominated by new mom, Juliana. In her nomination for Sandvig, Juliana told the story of her daughter’s birth and the nurse’s critical role in it. She said, “We credit Ella's life to our incredible nurse, Sam. If she had not been in our room as soon as our baby's heartrate dropped and made the call to check me when she did, we could have lost our little girl. She was the nurse who was meant to be with us that day. We are forever thankful for her care, knowledge, attentiveness, skill, and kindness. Because of her, we took home a healthy and happy baby girl.”
Jennifer Mewes, Clarion, who received the DAISY award as a nurse leader, was also praised in two nominations that were submitted for her. One nomination said, Mewes is “quite simply, a lighthouse. She is a point of reference, a mentor, a cheerleader, a teacher, and an invaluable source of hard-won knowledge. She is also an integral thread in the material that makes up this hospital and this community.” The other nomination went on to tell of Mewes joining a department meeting via Zoom while rocking and feeding a newborn and still providing valuable leadership.
Both nurses credited their ability to be extraordinary at their jobs with having a great team around them. They also both agreed that they and all other nurses work hard each and every day, with or without awards. Mewes emphasized, “I’m humbled by the award. This is just what we do. We don’t ask to be recognized, which of course is nice, but nurses strive to do our best every day.” Sandvig added, “We don’t ask for the recognition but it’s special to know that we’re doing more than helping people and they remember that.”
In addition to Sandvig and Mewes, other ISH nurses nominated for the first quarter included: Sara Abbas, Leigh Bycroft, Natalie Boyd, Miekka Cooper, Christina Doyle, Amy Haugland, Sara Hejlik, Heather Hutchinson, Jessica McClelland, Tricia Polzin, Vaughna Rethman, Karin Semans, Heather Smith, Vanessa Smith, Nikki Thompson, Mandy Wessels, Angela Wharton, Alyana Young.
