Kayla Turner, Registered Nurse on 5 West at South Georgia Medical Center, received The DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses for January. The award is part of the international DAISY Foundation, a program developed to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day. Turner has been with SGMC for 2-1/2 years.
Turner was nominated by a patient’s family member who stated, “Kayla was the last nurse we had on the day we moved my grandmother to the Langdale Hospice House. I was an absolute wreck. She stood with me in the hallway, held me, and cried with me like she’d known me forever. We had only met earlier that day. After my grandmother’s passing I wrote a note to Kayla, thanking her for her care. A few weeks later, Kayla found me on Facebook and sent a picture of the note hanging on her refrigerator, thanking me! If the world was full of thoughtful compassionate and kind Kaylas, we would live in a much better place!”
SGMC continues to ask patients and fellow employees to honor nurses they feel go above and beyond in their actions and care. Nominations are reviewed by a committee based on criteria that include compassion, teamwork, leadership, attitude, and skills and knowledge.
DAISY awards are presented monthly in front of the nurse’s colleagues, physicians, patients, and visitors. Each honoree receives a certificate commending her or him for being an “Extraordinary Nurse” and a beautiful sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa. Recipients also receive a bouquet of daisies donated by local flower shops.
To nominate a nurse for the DAISY award, visit www.sgmc.org/DAISYAward.