Hunterdon Health Nurses Receives The DAISY Award® For Extraordinary Nurses

On July 14th, Lindsay Levitas, BSN, RN, Hunterdon Pediatric Associates, and Heather Wise, APN, MSN, FNP-C, PMHNP-C, Hunterdon Family Medicine at Hawk Pointe 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. 

On Thursday, February 2nd, a patient and her husband arrived at the shared suite of Hunterdon Family Medicine at Hawk Pointe and Hunterdon Pediatric Associates. The appointment was supposed to be with another practice that recently moved to another building and the couple showed up at the wrong location. The patient's husband had a seat and immediately exhibited unusual breathing, trembling and had gone into cardiac arrest. Heather Wise performed CPR without a second thought, utilized the defibrillator and performed life-saving measures on the patient. Working hand-in-hand with Lindsay Levitas, they both stayed calm and stabilized the patient before the ambulance could arrive. The patient was transported to Hunterdon Medical Center’s Emergency Department for further care. The patient survived and is doing well. CPR helped to save the patient’s life and it was because of the efforts of Heather and Lindsay.  

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 patient’s 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 that works for Hunterdon Health or to learn more, visit https://www.hunterdonhealth.org/services/careers/nursing-careers/daisy-award.