Nurses at the Regional Medical Center are being honored with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The award, presented in collaboration with the American Organization of Nurse Executives is part of the DAISY -- Diseases Attacking the Immune System -- Foundation’s program to recognize the superhuman efforts nurses perform every day.

Peggy Osborne, R.N., a staff nurse in the intensive care unit, is RMC’s first recipient. A member of the RMC team for 15 years, Osborne has served in the nursing profession for 34 years. She was selected from some 90 nominations submitted since the inception of the program at RMC in April. A native of Branchville, she first served as an LPN for 16 years before returning to school and becoming an RN.

Osborne was chosen for the DAISY Award based on the nomination of a patient’s family member: “Over the past 17 days of my 88-year-old mother’s hospitalization, I have encountered numerous nurses, aides and technicians. None compare to Peggy Osborne. She is the epitome of what a nurse should and is expected to be. Her clinical expertise was evidenced by her awareness of my mother’s continued weakening condition.

“She thoroughly reviewed Mom’s chart and discovered that her hemoglobin had been declining. She contacted the doctor who ordered two pints of blood, which drastically improved Mom’s condition. The next day my mother was sitting up and fed herself for the first time in 17 days! She took the time to brush my mother’s hair each day and even went so far as to wash and dry it for her.

“She is the only nurse who cared enough and understood what this would mean to my mom to go that extra mile to do this. Getting her hair washed and dried meant so much to Mom and made her feel so much better. All of the nurses were above average but the compassion and care Peggy showed my mother for the few days she was in her care was far above the norm and was sincerely appreciated by me and my mother. She is most deserving of the award.”

Osborne said, “I am so honored to be the recipient of this award. It is really our entire unit’s award. We are a team, and I appreciate the opportunity to work with this great group of people in caring for our patients.”

The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, Calif., 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, a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. The care Barnes 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.

Each quarter, a nurse will be selected by RMC’s nursing administration to receive The DAISY Award. The honoree will receive a certificate commending her or him for being an “Extraordinary Nurse.”

RMC Chief Nursing Officer Julia Yawn said, “We are proud to be among the hospitals 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 another way for us to do that.”

“Peggy is a dedicated nurse who values her co-workers and demonstrates the teamwork approach every day,” said Deneene Linder, director of the Intensive Care Unit/Fourth West and Rehabcentre.

More information about The DAISY Award is available at www.DAISYfoundation.org.

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