NPSF Announces DAISY Award 2016 Honorees

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The National Patient Safety Foundation along with The Daisy Foundation have announced the winners of the 2016 National Patient Safety Foundation DAISY Awards for Extraordinary Nurses. The award, a derivative of The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, places special emphasis on patient and workforce safety.

Now in its second year, this award is a derivative of The DAISY Foundations’ signature program, The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses which is given to nurses in more than 2,200 healthcare facilities throughout the U.S. as well as 14 other countries. Nurses who received the DAISY award from their organizations between January 2014 and June 2015 were eligible for this 2016 international award.

“The National Patient Safety Foundation DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses is a way to formally recognize and celebrate exceptional contributions to patient safety by nurses,” said Tejal K. Gandhi, MD, MPH, CPPS, president and CEO, NPSF.

Rachel Whittaker, BSN, RN, CPN, of Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, the recipient of the individual award, was chosen for her leadership, compassion, and practice of patient-and family-centered care, particularly during end-of-life decisions.

The Clinical Informatics Council of the University of New Mexico Hospitals in Albuquerque, will receive the team award for their efforts to address safety issues including an alert designed to prevent complications from ventilator use, a Pediatric Early Warning Score to predict a deteriorating patient, and a streamlined method for documenting wounds. Sheena Ferguson, MSN, RN, CNS, CCRN, chief nursing officer, noted this as a “huge improvement” in patient safety, because it allows multiple disciplines to document wounds in the same place and with consistent terminology.

“Choosing the final honorees for this international award was difficult because we had so many inspiring stories of truly compassionate nurses making a difference in patient and workplace safety,” said Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, co-founder and president of The Daisy Foundation.

The awards will be presented during the 18th Annual NPSF Patient Safety Congress in Scottsdale, Arizona at the end of May.

For more information about The DAISY Foundation, visit www.DAISYfoundation.org. For updates about the award and the NPSF Patient Safety Congress, visit www.npsf.org/congress.