Kim Jones was recently recognized as the latest recipient of the DAISY Award at Taylorville Memorial Hospital. The award is part of the national DAISY Foundation’s program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day.

At a presentation on May 29, Jones was recognized in front of her colleagues. She received a certificate commending her for 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.” She was also given a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called “A Healer’s Touch”, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa.

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 know 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 families.

Any nurse at TMH may be nominated for the award. Nomination forms are available throughout TMH. A nurse is selected by TMH’s Nursing Shared Governance Council to receive the DAISY Award. Other nominated individuals included Michele Kilduff, Melissa Hainaut, Chad Stephens, Joy Eck, Lukas Schneider and Kim Kersey.

Taylorville Memorial Hospital is a 25-bed critical access hospital and is an affiliate of Memorial Health System. For more information about TMH, visit TaylorvilleMemorial.org.

Photo caption: Kim Jones,RN, TMH’s latest recipient of the DAISY Award.