Howard Young Medical Center Nurse Earns DAISY Award

WOODRUFF, Wis. – Howard Young Medical Center (HYMC) honored Katie Phillips, RN, with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses in recognition of her commitment and patient-centered approach to care. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day.

Howard Young Medical Center DAISY Award recipients are nurses recognized for going above and beyond patient expectations by providing service with respect, compassion, and integrity; generating enthusiasm and energy while carrying out everyday duties and responsibilities; significantly making a difference and listening not only with ears but also with heart.

Phillips works in the HYMC Medical-Surgical Unit and was nominated for the DAISY Award by the grateful family member of a recent patient. The nomination reads in part: I found Katie's ability to hear our family's wishes and questions and then act on them with integrity, skill, and clear communication to go beyond expectations. I'm in my fifties, so I've had a few hospital stays, and experienced the long-term hospitalization of my son after an accident. It is rare to meet a nurse who combines such compassion, calm, and confidence in the care that she and the other staff provide. Although my dad died yesterday, I also came away from the experience with a restored confidence in people's ability to care for each other, as well as high respect for your hospital, since Katie's service and professionalism must represent the high standards you're setting for your medical staff. Thank you.

Phillips and her co-workers were treated to cinnamon rolls which honor the memory of the late Patrick Barnes who once ate his father’s cinnamon roll when he was in the hospital without an appetite for food. He then requested one for the next day – and enough for all the nurses in the unit. The hope is that whenever a nurse smells that wonderful cinnamon aroma, they’ll stop for a minute and think of how special they are for being a nurse. Additionally, Phillips received an honoree pin, certificate, and a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa.

Established in 1999, the family of J. Patrick Barnes created the DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Award to honor his memory with a tribute to the skillful and compassionate care he received from his nurses during his hospitalization. Nurses may be nominated by patients, families, visitors and colleagues and they are chosen by a multi-disciplinary team to receive the DAISY Award.

The DAISY Award recognizes the outstanding and extraordinary care nurses provide every day. Aspirus DAISY Award winners and nominees exceed the needs and expectations of patients and families by displaying the Aspirus core values of: Compassion, Accountability, Collaboration, Foresight and Joy.