Forrest General Names DAISY Award Winner For February

Jacqueline Thomas, RN, was named the recipient of the February DAISY Award at Forrest General Hospital. The award is presented monthly to a deserving nurse or nurses who exemplify clinical expertise and compassionate care and is recognized as a role model in the nursing community.

A surprised Thomas, who has worked at Forrest General for 23 years, quickly said this award wasn’t just for her. “It’s for my whole department. I haven’t done anything special. I tell our coordinator that we love what we do; that’s the most rewarding thing for us. This fast-paced department is the best one to work in. We get to meet new people and experience new things every day, and we just love it.”

Thomas, a nurse in Same Day Surgery for 15 years, has a passion for providing high-quality patient care to all the patients in Same Day Surgery, but she has a special place in her heart for the hospital’s cervical cancer patients. “These ladies come to SDS every week for 5 weeks for the treatment, and we get very attached to them,” Thomas said, noting that some are often receiving radiation and chemotherapy at the same time and many are young women with small children.

Thomas’ nominator said Thomas wanted to do something special for these ladies when they had their last surgery completing the radiation therapy. “With her own money, she bought several items which displayed encouraging messages to give to patients on the last day in SDS as a celebration,” the nominator said. “We, as a group in SDS, will clap and congratulate them and present them with the bag of goodies. Jackie displays her caring not only her words, but her actions, as well. She is one of the most empathetic and compassionate nurses I have ever worked with. She treats each and every patient with kindness.”

The DAISY Foundation was established in 1999 in California by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at the age of 33 from complications of an auto-immune disease. During his eight-week hospital stay, his family was impressed by the care and compassion his nurses provided, not only to him but to everyone in the family. They created the DAISY Award in his memory to recognize those nurses who make a big difference in the lives of so many people.

Forrest General Hospital is proud to be a DAISY Award partner and recognizes one of its nurses with this special honor every month. Nurses are nominated by patients, and family members, as well as other healthcare professionals. The winner is then selected by a board of healthcare workers. Each DAISY Award Honoree is recognized at a public ceremony in her/his unit and receives a certificate, a DAISY Award pin, and a hand-carved stone sculpture entitled, A Healer’s Touch, handcrafted by a tribe in Zimbabwe.