Why 2016 Will Be Our Third Year As a Proud DAISY Partner
January 20, 2015
By Karen Kirby, RN, MSN, NEA‐BC, FACHE, FAAN President & CEO
DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The Foundation was formed in November, 1999, by the family of J. Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). Shortly after Pat’s death, the amazing family and founders of the DAISY Foundation, Mark and Bonnie Barnes, considered what to do in Pat’s memory.
The one really positive thing they could hold onto from the experience of Patrick’s eight‐week hospitalization was the skillful and amazingly compassionate care he received from his nurses ‐ even when he was totally sedated. When Pat died, Mark and Bonnie felt compelled to express their profound gratitude to nurses for the work they do for patients and their families every day. This is the primary mission of The DAISY Foundation.
The DAISY Foundation says thank you to the nursing profession in four ways:
Honoring the super‐human work nurses do in direct care of patients and families every day: The DAISY Award Funding nursing research:
The J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence‐Based Practice Projects
Celebrating extraordinary compassion and skill by nursing students: The DAISY in Training Award
Honoring nursing faculty: The DAISY Faculty Award.
Although the DAISY Foundation was established in 1999, my first exposure to the DAISY Foundation was in 2006 when I was conducting the executive search for a new CNO at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, Washington. UW was one of the first organizations to introduce the DAISY award under the leadership of Susan Grant, MS, RN, NEA‐BC, FAAN, currently a member of the DAISY Board of Directors. While I was doing my site visit at UW, I was asked if I would like to attend a DAISY ceremony honoring one of the many exceptional nurses at this organization. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity, and was so thankful I did! It was amazing! The nurse being honored was nominated by her peers and it was truly heartwarming to observe the festivities, complete with Cinnamon rolls. Cinnabon® has been with the DAISY Foundation from the beginning, contributing untold thousands of their very delicious cinnamon rolls that are a big part of every DAISY Award presentation.
When I was on that site visit at UW, I picked up information on the DAISY award and started telling other clients about the great work of this organization. Several years later, in 2012, I had the distinct privilege of meeting Mark and Bonnie Barnes. It was love at first site! I was so impressed with these incredible people who were dedicating their lives to honoring nurses. I knew immediately I needed to do more even though Kirby Bates is a relatively small company with fewer resources compared to other industry partners.
At Kirby Bates, we are committed to building exceptional nursing leadership teams ‐ one leader at a time, with the ultimate goal of enhancing patient care. I can think of no better way to also enhance patient care than to honor the heroic nurses who deliver that care every day through the DAISY award. 2016 will mark our third year as a DAISY partner and I continue to be amazed at all this organization has achieved. They are now in 2,000 organizations in 14 different countries around the world and continuing to grow.
There are many benefits to being a DAISY sponsor but the most important to me and our KBA team is the opportunity to help honor the important work of nurses. We also value the ability to help fund research grants on evidence based practice awarded by the DAISY Foundation. It is truly a privilege to support this amazing organization and to have the honor to be able to call Mark and Bonnie Barnes dear friends!
DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The Foundation was formed in November, 1999, by the family of J. Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). Shortly after Pat’s death, the amazing family and founders of the DAISY Foundation, Mark and Bonnie Barnes, considered what to do in Pat’s memory.
Honoring the super‐human work nurses do in direct care of patients and families every day: The DAISY Award Funding nursing research:
Although the DAISY Foundation was established in 1999, my first exposure to the DAISY Foundation was in 2006 when I was conducting the executive search for a new CNO at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, Washington. UW was one of the first organizations to introduce the DAISY award under the leadership of Susan Grant, MS, RN, NEA‐BC, FAAN, currently a member of the DAISY Board of Directors. While I was doing my site visit at UW, I was asked if I would like to attend a DAISY ceremony honoring one of the many exceptional nurses at this organization. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity, and was so thankful I did! It was amazing! The nurse being honored was nominated by her peers and it was truly heartwarming to observe the festivities, complete with Cinnamon rolls. Cinnabon® has been with the DAISY Foundation from the beginning, contributing untold thousands of their very delicious cinnamon rolls that are a big part of every DAISY Award presentation.
There are many benefits to being a DAISY sponsor but the most important to me and our KBA team is the opportunity to help honor the important work of nurses. We also value the ability to help fund research grants on evidence based practice awarded by the DAISY Foundation. It is truly a privilege to support this amazing organization and to have the honor to be able to call Mark and Bonnie Barnes dear friends!