Chris-Anna Donachy, RN, right, was named this year's DAISY Award winner.Photo of two female nurses and a male nurse smiling with an award.

Ashe Memorial Hospital announces DAISY Award winners

JEFFERSON, N.C. — Chris-Anna Donachy, a registered nurse (RN) and Barry Maynard, a certified nursing assistant (CNA), were recently selected as Ashe Memorial Hospital’s next DAISY Award winners.

Ashe Memorial Hospital takes great pride in providing patient-centered, high-quality care to the Ashe County Community. The DAISY Award is an international recognition program that honors and celebrates the essential role that nurses play in enhancing the patient experience by consistently demonstrating excellence through their clinical expertise and extraordinary compassionate care. Nurses may be nominated by patients, family members or colleagues.

Donachy, who works in oncology, and Maynard, who works on the medical/surgical floor, received nominations from patients and their families. Their stories were chosen by the DAISY Award committee through a blind selection process. The award is not an administrative award, but rather an award given from those that the hospital serves in the community.

“We’re proud to have a group of dedicated nurses and certified nursing assistants who continuously go above and beyond for our patients and their families,” Ashe Memorial Hospital CEO Brian Yates said. “This year’s DAISY Award winners continually enhance the patient experience through their compassionate care, positivity and professionalism, and we’re fortunate to have them here at Ashe Memorial Hospital.”

Ashe Memorial Hospital started its DAISY Award program in 2021 and last year, nursing leadership decided to expand the program by also awarding a DAISY Award to a CNA.
Tiffany Weaver, director of inpatient services, and Robert Powers, director of the emergency department, presented Donachy and Maynard with their DAISY Awards May 7 during a Nightingale Tea in celebration of Nurses Week.

“I was very shocked and deeply humbled to receive the DAISY Award,” Donachy, who has been a nurse for nearly 26 years, said. “My patients are amazing, and I am thankful for all the wonderful mentors I have worked with over the years. “I'd like to say to my fellow nurses ‘You Matter’. All nursing is hard. More often than not, you feel like the odds are insurmountable. You do amazing things though. You do little things as well, sometimes because that's all you can do. At the end of those hard days, be kind to yourself.”

The DAISY award is a coveted award because patients and their family members drive the nominees and winners. The award is based on the patient experience, which is how nurses choose to treat their patients and the expectations they set for themselves in serving them. It’s about how nurses make them feel.

“Huge congratulations to Chris-Anna Donachy for winning the DAISY Award,” Melissa Conkle, director of oncology, said. “Her compassion, dedication, and commitment to providing excellent patient care has made a lasting impact. This recognition is so well-deserved, and I would like to thank her for making a meaningful difference while caring for her patients.”

As the winner of the DAISY Award, Donachy and Maynard each received a certificate, a DAISY Award pin and a meaningful sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe. They also will sign a DAISY Award banner, which will be hung in their respective departments. The banner will rotate throughout the hospital with each new award winner.

“Barry is a delight to work with,” Weaver said. “His hard work and dedication are noticed not only by his coworkers but also by the patients he cares for daily.”

Maynard began working as a CNA in 2008, spending much of his time in the emergency department before transitioning to the medical/surgical inpatient floor. At the time, Maynard heard that the DAISY award was for nurses and didn’t believe it was something he would be able to achieve. During his career, Maynard was nominated for the DAISY award multiple times.

Last month, Maynard learned that he had been nominated once again. He was scheduled to be on vacation but decided to attend the event after thinking about the person who nominated him. They took the time to write about the care he provided, and that effort deserved to be recognized.

“For years, this award represented something I thought I could never have: the highest recognition in nursing that couldn’t be bought with a degree or certification, you had to earn it,” Maynard, who is now pursuing a degree in healthcare management, said. “And now, as I prepare to shift my career path so I can help even more people, I’ve finally achieved the goal I set for myself so many years ago. It’s bittersweet, yes, but it means more to me than I ever imagined. To everyone who believed in me, who gave me a chance, and who saw value in what CNAs do every single day: thank you. I will carry this moment with me always.”

In addition to Donachy and Maynard, Tori Adams, RN, Hector Albino-Ruiz, RN, Maranda Barker, RN, Deva Darnell, RN, Katie Henson, RN, Maria Lackey, RN, Bridget Mash, RN, Tina Rutherford, RN, Morgan Shatley, RN, EmmaJo Cunliffe, CNA, Holly Dallman, CNA, Dana Hudson, CNA, Lupe Jaramillo-Lopez, CNA, Emily Marilla, CNA, Leonie Phillips, CNA, Yanet Tavera Mendiola, CNA and Anita Walls, CNA, also were nominated for the DAISY Award.

If you or a loved one has been positively impacted by the efforts and contributions of one of Ashe Memorial Hospital’s dedicated nurses, the hospital encourages you to share your story of how a nurse made a meaningful difference in your life.

Nomination forms are available throughout the hospital or online at www.ashememorial.org/docs/DAISY_Award_Nomination_Form.pdf. Completed nomination forms can be placed in the collection boxes in the hospital’s main lobby, emergency department lobby or the oncology department or mailed to the address on the form.

The DAISY Foundation was established by the family of J. Patrick Barnes after he died from complications of the auto-immune disease Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) in 1999 at the age of 33. During his hospitalization, the family was touched by the care and compassion shown to Barnes and his entire family. When he died, they felt compelled to not only honor Patrick in a positive way but also say “thank you” to nurses in a very public way. To learn more, visit www.DaisyFoundation.org.

About Ashe Memorial Hospital
For more than 80 years, Ashe Memorial Hospital’s dedicated team of board-certified physicians, nurses and staff members have provided the highest quality medical care available to the people of Ashe County and the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. Ashe Memorial Hospital offers a wide variety of emergency, elective, rehabilitation and preventative health services.

Founded in 1941, Ashe Memorial Hospital is a fully accredited 25 bed critical hospital located in Jefferson, N.C. For more information, please visit ashememorial.org or call 336-846-7101.