Hershey Medical Center names Brand November DAISY Award winner
Hershey Medical Center presented the December DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Award Nicole Brand, a nurse in Penn State Health Children’s Hospital Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. The accolade recognizes nurses for their skillful, compassionate care and their daily support of patients and families.
Brand’s nominator highlighted the exceptional care she provided to a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit cardiac patient and the patient’s Spanish-speaking parents. Due to a significant language barrier, the parents had difficulty understanding their child’s serious diagnosis and poor prognosis. Brand, who is fluent in Spanish, cared for the patient during part of her inpatient stay. Brand developed a deep connection with the family that continued for several months.
When all treatment and surgical options had been exhausted, Brand helped the family understand the decisions before them. She worked closely with the surgical team in the patient’s final days and created legacy items for the family. Surgery providers noted that Brand’s presence gave the family a great deal of peace and comfort as she “worked tirelessly to make the days as beautiful and meaningful as possible for [the patient’s] family.”
“Nicole went above and beyond the call of duty to create a deep trusting relationship with [the patient’s] family,” the nominator wrote. “Nicole is an outstanding role model whose level of dedication and compassion is unparalleled.”
The DAISY Award was created in memory of Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura. The DAISY Foundation was established by his family to keep his spirit alive. Its primary mission is to express gratitude to nurses for the work they do for patients and their families every day.
Winners are nominated by staff members, patients and their families and selected by Hershey Medical Center’s Patient- and Family-Centered Care Advisory Council. See the award application and past winners on the Nursing Infonet site. Contact April Adley at 717-531-7289 with any questions.
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