Hunterdon Health Nurse Receives The DAISY Award® For Extraordinary Nurses

Pictured left to right: Brittany Zrinski, RN, from Alpha, Aldana Munoz Cavero, RN, from Whitehouse Station and Giovanna Gattuso, RN, from Upper Black Eddy, PA.

Brittany Zrinski, RN, Giovanna Gattuso, RN, and Aldana Munoz Cavaro, RN, 5 South, all 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 brother, Richard, spent eight weeks at Hunterdon Medical Center. He had a brain glioblastoma. He suffered greatly during those weeks. He later passed in Serenity Hospital Hospice. He spent the majority of those weeks on 5 South and in the ICU. On 5 South, Rich was treated with love and respect at all times. I have singled out 3 very special nurses. These lovely young women were so compassionate to Rich during his rapid decline. They also went out of their way to ensure my brother Joe and I were doing okay. They brought us drinks and food and offered a hug when we needed it most. They showed great patience with Rich and even prayed with us when we were praying. Even when they were not assigned to Rich, they would often check on us and him. Several nurses and aides even came to Rich's celebration of life! The day we transported Rich to hospice, all the 5 South nurses came into his room and as a group, had their picture taken with him and us. As the gurney was pushed into the hallway, the nurses and staff lined both sides of the hall and clapped for Rich. On this saddest of days, we were surrounded by love!” 

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.