May 6, 2011
Contact: Bonnie Zimmerman
Director, Marketing and Physician Services
Florida Hospital Waterman
1000 Waterman Way
Tavares, FL 32778
(352) 253-3442
News for Immediate Release
Extraordinary Nurses To Be Recognized at Florida Hospital Waterman
Tavares, FL: Nurses at Florida Hospital Waterman will be honored with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at 12:00 noon on Tuesday, May 10, 2011. The award, presented in collaboration with The American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) is part of the DAISY Foundation’s program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day. . The key note speaker at the ceremony will be Teena Barnes, co-founder of the DAISY Award.
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 in 1999 at the age of 33 from complications of an 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.
A nurse will be selected by Florida Hospital Waterman’s nursing administration four times each year, once every three months. At a presentation given in front of the nurse’s colleagues, physicians, patients and visitors, the honoree will receive a certificate commending him or her for being an “Extraordinary Nurse.” The certificate reads: “In deep appreciation of all you do, who you are, and the incredibly meaningful difference you make in the lives of so many people.” The honoree will also be given a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called “A Healer’s Touch,” hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa.
“We are proud to be among the hospitals participating in the DAISY Award program,” said Patricia Dolan, Chief Nursing Officer. “Nurses are heroes every day. Given the current national nursing shortage, the DAISY Award could not be launched at a better time. It’s important that our nurses know their work is highly valued, and The DAISY Foundation provides a way for us to do that.”
For a complete listing of hospitals currently participating in the DAISY program, go to www. DAISYfoundation.org.
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