Habing Receives St. Anthony Hospital DAISY Award

(LEFT TO RIGHT: HSHS CHIEF NURSING OFFICER BOBBI KINKELAAR PRESENTS DAISY AWARD TO HSHS ST. ANTHONY'S MEMORIAL HOSPITAL INTENSIVE CARE NURSE RITA HABING)

HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital has awarded Rita Habing, RN, with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses® for the past quarter (October-December 2019). The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care they provide patients and families every day.

Habing, who works in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, was nominated for the award by a colleague who shared how Habing used her sewing skills to help a patient feel more comfortable. A patient had an abdominal compression belt that was not a good fit for them. After her shift, Habing went home and sewed it for the patient so that it would fit better and make the patient feel more comfortable. The nominator wrote, “We just do not have any more caring and compassionate nurse as Rita! She is one of a kind!”

Including Habing, a total of nine dedicated nurses were also recognized for receiving individual nominations for The DAISY Award for this quarter. These other colleagues included: Regina Baxter and J’Erika Hanks (Med/Surg); Melinda Hull (Pediatrics); Jennifer Fearday, Nancy Oberlink, Lara Cook and Cheyanne Deters (Women and Infants Center); and Ashley Davis (Women’s Wellness).

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.) 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.

Nominations for future DAISY Awards at St. Anthony’s continue to be accepted. Patients and visitors are encouraged to share and submit their story of witnessing excellent and compassionate care from nursing staff.  A nomination form can be downloaded on the home page of the hospital’s web site at stanthonyshospital.org and clicking the DAISY nomination icon. Forms can also be downloaded and emailed to DAISY@hshs.org.

For more information about The DAISY Foundation, visit DAISYfoundation.org. Information about HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital can be found on the hospital’s website at stanthonyshospital.org.