ANMC nurse Elizabeth Hesse earns DAISY Award
October 23, 2017
ANMC’s Magnet nurses provide culturally appropriate, family-centered care in a unique hospital environment, and they are constantly seeking ways to improve the services and care we provide. In an effort to further recognize our nurses for their outstanding work, ANMC partnered with the DAISY Award, an international program that rewards and celebrates the extraordinary clinical skill and compassionate care given by nurses every day.
Congratulations to ANMC DAISY Award honoree, Elizabeth Hesse, RN, in ANMC’s Critical Care Unit (CCU). Hesse was recognized at an impromptu award ceremony where she was presented with a certificate, a DAISY Award pin and a hand-carved stone sculpture. Many of her colleagues and ANMC leadership attended the ceremony to show their appreciation and support for Hesse, who was surprised and thankful for the recognition.
“I am very proud and honored to win this award,” said Hesse. “Everyday I come to work, I strive to leave my patients in a better state then when I arrived. I work to go above and beyond my role to provide my patients and their families with the care they deserve. I am ecstatic to be acknowledged for my hard work and dedication in making a difference.”
Lauren Kennard, fellow RN and colleague, nominated Hesse for her efforts in establishing a Palliative Care program in the ANMC CCU. Kennard wrote, “For many years, ANMC lacked a solid palliative care program for inpatient clients. Frequent attempts were made by bedside nurses to address the lack of palliative care options, but nothing ever came to be. Beth not only saw this issue, but took it as a challenge to overcome and unlike anyone before her, she has made a difference. In the short weeks since the palliative care program has been piloted in the unit, I have seen so many benefits. Morale has improved unit wide, and we are providing better end-of-life care than we have ever provided in the past.”
Hesse has worked at ANMC for nearly two and a half years. Before moving to Alaska and coming to work at ANMC, she worked at hospitals in the Lower 48.
“This is hands down the best facility I have worked for. I love that I am surrounded by such an outstanding team of nurses, doctors and interdisciplinary staff,” said Hesse. “People seem happy to work here and that environment alone is what I love the most about this place. In the CCU, we are often surrounded by sadness, grief and loss, and it’s amazing to have a team that builds each other up and that we all get acknowledged on a daily basis for our efforts.”
The DAISY Foundation was established in 1999 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, who died of complications of the autoimmune disease Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura. DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem.
Patients, their families and fellow ANMC staff can nominate nurses for DAISY Awards. Nomination forms and collection boxes have been placed throughout the ANMC hospital.
Subsequent honorees will be selected quarterly and each DAISY Award honoree will be recognized at a public ceremony in her or his unit or department. For more information about the DAISY Award program, please visit www.DAISYfoundation.org. For questions about nominating an ANMC nurse, please email Kimberley Carr at krcarr@anthc.org.