Swedish Medical Center Nurses Receive The DAISY Award
Eight Swedish Medical Center nurses will receive , a national program established by The DAISY Foundation to recognize nurses who deliver quality and compassionate care.
The nurses will receive their awards at a special ceremony at Swedish’s Cherry Hill campus on Wednesday.
Swedish Medical Center will celebrate five years of presenting The DAISY Award, and UnitedHealthcare will announce its continued support for the program at Swedish’s five hospital campuses (First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard, Edmonds and Issaquah) as well as its two ambulatory care clinics in Mill Creek and Redmond.
Special guests at the ceremony will include The DAISY Foundation co-founders Mark and Bonnie Barnes and UnitedHealthcare Northwest Region CEO David Hansen. In addition to announcing the eight new winners, Swedish will honor its past 44 award recipients, all of whom have exemplified the tenets of the DAISY Award: social responsibility, service excellence, ethical behavior, safe patient care, quality care and continual education.*
“Nurses are a vital resource in today’s health-care system; they are the healthcare professionals on the frontline who spend the most time with patients and whose role is pivotal in helping people live with illness and live healthier lives,” said Hansen. “UnitedHealthcare is grateful for the opportunity to join with Swedish Medical Center today to honor DAISY Award winners past and present for their extraordinary, compassionate care and commitment.”
Seattle native Mark Barnes and his wife Bonnie spent their careers working as advertising and marketing executives. In 1999, Mark’s son Patrick, 33, developed the auto-immune disease Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (ITP). Pat and his wife Tena had given birth to the family’s first grandchild six weeks prior to his illness.
Patrick was treated at a Swedish cancer research center and passed away at Swedish in November 1999. The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System) was established by family members in his memory. The care Barnes and his family received over his eight-week hospitalization inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a difference in the lives of their patients and patients’ families.
“When Patrick was ill, we were awed by the skill, care and compassion he – and we, his family – received,” said Bonnie Barnes. “We created to say thank you to nurses around the country, as we believe they are truly ‘unsung heroes.’ We also want to thank UnitedHealthcare for helping us acknowledge the remarkable work nurses do every day, and Swedish Medical Center for its tremendous support over the years.”
Each month, nurses in more than 1,260 participating hospitals across the United States are nominated by their colleagues and patients to receive The DAISY Award. The honorees receive a certificate commending outstanding clinical care and a designation of being an ‘Extraordinary Nurse.’ The certificate reads: “In deep appreciation of all you do, who you are, and the incredibly meaningful difference you make in the lives of so many people.” The honorees are also given a sculpture called , hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa.
Swedish joins 104 other medical centers where The DAISY Award is sponsored by UnitedHealthcare. UnitedHealthcare has committed more than $166,000 in support of The DAISY Foundation since 2006.
The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, Calif., and was established in 2000 by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. The DAISY Foundation supports the nursing profession with recognition programs for bedside nurses and nursing faculty and with grants for research and evidence-based practice projects conducted by nurses. As of December 2011, more than 20,000 nurses at over 1,260 hospitals have been recognized with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. More information is available at .
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 650,000 physicians and care professionals and 5,000 hospitals nationwide. UnitedHealthcare serves more than 38 million people and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.
Founded in 1910, Swedish is the largest non-profit health provider in the Greater Seattle area. It is comprised of five hospital campuses (First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard, Edmonds and Issaquah); ambulatory care centers in Redmond and Mill Creek; and Swedish Medical Group, a network of more than 100 primary-care and specialty clinics located throughout the Greater Puget Sound area. In addition to general medical and surgical care including robotic-assisted surgery, Swedish is known as a regional referral center, providing specialized treatment in areas such as cardiovascular care, cancer care, neuroscience, orthopedics, high-risk obstetrics, pediatric specialties, organ transplantation and clinical research. For more information, visit , , , or .