DAISY AWARD WINNER RECOGNIZED AT HOLZER HEALTH SYSTEM
Brittany Reffitt, RN, Holzer Health System
Brittany Reffitt, RN, Holzer Health System, was recently honored with The DAISY Award®. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's programs to recognize the above and beyond efforts nurses perform every day.
The nomination submitted by a local police department read “I wanted to take a few minutes to praise a member of your staff for their conduct during one of the most difficult of situations. My office responded to a call regarding an unresponsive infant. Ultimately, the child was transported to your emergency department and most unfortunately, this child perished. Professionally, my office is responsible to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of death, which is exactly what we did in this situation. As we entered into the emergency department and traveled to the trauma bay where the child was, we found one of your nursing staff remained in the trauma bay with the child swaddled in a blanket. This nurse was seated beside the child and was simply brushing the child’s hair with her hand. As we entered the trauma bay, we apologized for interrupting. Her answer brought a tear to our eyes, renewed the spirit of the nursing field and embodies why you do what you do. Her response to us was simply ‘I couldn’t let him lay in here alone and by himself.’ As we continued the procedures of our investigation, this nurse offered up the services that she could to assist us in what we needed to accomplish and as she left, her departing statement was that if there was anything we needed just to let her know and she would accomplish it. I want to close by saying, these situations are never easy. None of us are naturally built with the characteristics to have the care and compassion that this nurse displayed for this child after his passing. These are character traits which are built into us from years of conditioning to do the right things, even when the right things aren’t easy. These are traits that, from a leadership perspective, you can’t train or buy with money, but when your staff possesses them, they are purely invaluable to any organization or community. Please accept my most sincere thank you on behalf of my staff and I along with a grateful community for the care and compassion shown by this nurse in these most unfortunate circumstances.”
DAISY stands for Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem. 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 known 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.
Said Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, CEO and Co-Founder of The DAISY Foundation, "When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide patients every day and night. Yet these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for the super-human work they do. The kind of work the nurses at Holzer are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award.”
Nominations for the DAISY award can be submitted by patients, patients’ family members, peers, and providers. The award honors LPNs and RNs across every division of care in the Holzer system, including: acute/hospital, post-acute/long-term care, and ambulatory/outpatient. Nomination forms can be found throughout all Holzer facilities and online at www.holzer.org/DAISY-award. The nominations are verified before being shared with the Holzer DAISY committee to evaluate and score the applicants each month. In nominating an individual, a specific example or scenario of the nurse going above and beyond for a patient is required on the nomination form.
“The DAISY Award program shines a light on all the right,” shared Susan Rowe, RN, MSN, CENP, C-EFM, CLS, Vice President, Nursing Services, Holzer Health System. “Through this program, we are able to meaningfully recognize the extraordinary contributions of nurses, and their efforts to create and sustain healthy work environments. We are honored to formally recognize Rachael as the Holzer first recipient of the DAISY award.”
When asked about receiving the award, Brittany responded, “I am incredibly grateful to have received a DAISY award. As it was a very wonderful surprise, I am in awe of those that recognized the care I have provided to others. I am humbled by the experience and the honor of receiving a DAISY.”
Brittany joined Holzer in 2010 on the Inpatient 4 East Unit at Gallipolis after receiving her Associates Degree from the University of Rio Grande. She transferred to the Emergency Department in 2011 and has remained in that department since.
When asked about being a part of Holzer, she continued, “When I think about my time with Holzer I always feel as though I am home. The environment, the faces, all of it feels like being home!”
Brittany resides in Bidwell with her daughter, Amelia. She enjoys doing home improvement projects and riding motorcycles.
To learn more about this program how The DAISY Award recognizes extraordinary nurses, please visit DAISYFoundation.org. To nominate an extraordinary Holzer nurse, please visit www.holzer.org/DAISY-award or fill out a paper form at one of our locations.
