Hunterdon Health Nurse Receives The DAISY Award® For Extraordinary Nurses

Megan Bill, BSN, RN, 3 West,  received the Daisy Award for Hunterdon Health.  The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s program to recognize the clinical skill and the compassion nurses provide to patients and families every day. 

A patient’s family wrote, “My father was a patient on 3 West. We had the privilege of experiencing firsthand the exceptional care provided by Megan during his hospitalization. My father was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic lung cancer in January 2020. Over the past four years, he underwent stereotactic radiation treatments, four years of chemotherapy, lumpectomy, countless MRI and CAT scans and two previous hospitalizations for chemotoxicity. I believe my father knew this hospitalization was different. He was not improving and due to the complexity of his condition, he made the decision to accept comfort care measures and his wishes were to go home on Hospice. Megan was his nurse on the first day. From the moment she walked into his room, her warm smile and genuine concern immediately put him at ease. She took time to listen, answered all of our questions and if she didn't know, she demonstrated a confidence that she would find the right people to get the answers for us. 

What truly sets Megan apart is her level of compassion and empathy. Not only did she attend to my father's physical needs with skill and expertise, but also took time to understand the emotional aspects of his illness. Megan took the time to listen to my concerns as my father's primary caregiver, and also advocated on my behalf when I had questions about changes to his care or needed to speak with a member of the team. Whether it was staying late to provide additional support or advocating on my behalf to ensure that my father received the best possible care, she consistently went above and beyond the call of duty.” 

The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, CA, and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes.  Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease.  The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patients’ families.

Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, President and Co-Founder of The DAISY Foundation said, “When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide patients every day and night. Yet these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for the super-human work they do.  The kind of work the nurses throughout Hunterdon Health are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award.”

The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses has been adopted by 3,500 health care facilities and schools of nursing in all 50 states and 21 other countries, committed to honoring their nurses for their extraordinary care and compassion.  Individual nurses may be nominated by patients, families, and colleagues and they are chosen by a Hunterdon Health committee.

“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,” explained Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services, Mary Jo Loughlin, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, Hunterdon Health.

DAISY Award recipients are presented with a certificate, a DAISY Award pin, a beautiful hand-carved serpentine stone sculpture from Zimbabwe, and a spotlight page on The DAISY Foundation website, featuring a photo and telling the story of why this nurse was honored. 

At each award presentation, all the nurses and staff in the recipient’s unit are treated to cinnamon rolls. The reason?  Once, Patrick ate his father’s cinnamon roll when he was in the hospital without an appetite for food.  He then requested one for the next day – and enough for all the nurses in the unit.

To nominate a nurse who works for Hunterdon Health or to learn more, visit https://www.hunterdonhealth.org/services/careers/nursing-careers/daisy-award.