Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy
On a breezy afternoon, Thrusday, Oct. 12, 2023, in the Gila Regional Medical Center courtyard, nominees and the winner of this year's Daisy Award, along with family members, hospital administrators, staff and board of trustee members celebrated this year's Daisy Award winner.
Before announcing the winner, Interim Chief Nursing Officer Cynthia Lewis, read the full list of this year's nominees, which are submitted by patients and their family members.
The list of nominees, which was 450 percent larger than last year's list, include: Jadeshola Aiyedipe, Elizabeth Alvo, Gwendolyn Burns, Christine Cruz, Jarita Diaz, Kimberly Dyndiuk, Marissa Gallardo, Destiny Gallegos, William Hemmer, Wisdom James, Jamie Jaurequi, Brittany (Camille) Keys, Kyle Lipke, Analysa Maynes, Denise McNutt, Jeannette Medina, Carmen Molina, Ann Pavlakovich, Analissa Quinteros, Elia Rael, Nikki Ortiz, Brianna Romero, Mary Schwarz, Jessica Sprague, Sandra Testerman, Jennifer Thurnherr, Carolyn Torrez, Brianna Wilson, and Zeidy Jordan.
Lewes told a bit of history of the award, which can be found at https://www.daisyfoundation.org/about-us .
The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses was created in 1999 to honor the compassionate care provided by nurses as they care for patients and family members, by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, who received eight weeks of kind and compassionate care before his young death at 33. His family wanted to honor him and created a foundation to support the Daisy Award.
His wife, Tena, developed the acronym DAISY, which stands for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.
DAISY Nurses are recognized for the acts of kindness and the sensitivity they demonstrate every day – the things that make a profound difference in a patient's experience in healthcare. Nominations are submitted primarily by patients and families, though co-workers often write nominations, too, all describing the impact a nurse has had in her/his day-to-day work.
Ending the suspense, Lewis named this year's winner of the GRMC DAISY award, Kimberly Dyndiuk.
After presenting the award, Lewis read from one of the letters that nominated her—this one from Jim Greenwood, who praised Dyndiuk's professionalism, compassion and care.
Lewis also noted that Daisy Awards have a tradition of serving cinnamon rolls, because one day while Barnes was in the hospital, his father brought him an cinnamon roll. Patrick ate the whole thing and asked his father to bring cinnamon rolls again the next day for his entire care staff.
Lewis went on to say that not only does the winner get a Daisy Award pin, but also a serpentine stone carving created in Zimbabwe and signed by the artist. The award also comes with other opportunities for grants and scholarships for further education by the awardee.
Each nominee receives a certificate of nomination as well as a Daisy award nominee pin.
Two GRMC employees unfurled a banner, which will hang in the ER where Dyndiuk works.