Picture of Kim Harris holding a certificate, a DAISY Award, pin, and a meaningful sculpture.
Kim Harris, a licensed practical nurse (LPN), was recently selected as Ashe Memorial Hospital’s next DAISY Award winner.
Ashe Memorial Hospital names DAISY Award winner
JEFFERSON, N.C. — Kim Harris, a licensed practical nurse (LPN), was recently selected as Ashe Memorial Hospital’s next DAISY Award winner.
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.
Harris, who works on the medical/surgical floor, received multiple nominations from patients and their families, as well as a fellow colleague, and her story was 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.
“There are no words to express how I felt when I won the DAISY Award,” Harris said. “I care for my patients the way I would want my family members cared for. It is a reminder that even on days that you feel so unappreciated by five out of six of your patients; there is that one patient that reminds you that the care you provide does make a difference.”
Ashe Memorial Hospital chief nursing officer JoAnn Smith and Brandy Olive, senior director of performance improvement and clinical services, presented Harris with the DAISY Award May 3 during a Nightingale Tea in celebration of Nurses’ Week.
“Patients and families are faced with a lot of unknowns,” Smith said. “They may feel vulnerable, helpless or anxious. They place trust in those caring for them, and the ability to understand these emotions and concerns is critical to healing. Our DAISY winner understands this. Patients describe her as caring, competent, knowledgeable, skillful, thoughtful, uplifting and a team player. She is dedicated to her team and patients; and we are honored to have Kim as a valued member of our nursing team and celebrate with her this great recognition.”
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.
As the winner of the DAISY Award, Harris 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. She also signed a DAISY Award banner, which will be hung on the hospital’s medical/surgical floor where Harris works. The banner will rotate throughout the hospital with each new award winner.
“Kim is one of the most compassionate, kind-hearted and loving people you will ever meet,” said Carrie McEachern, director of inpatient services for Ashe Memorial Hospital. “She treats our patients like they are her family. She gets to know them and takes care of their every need. She is great to work with, and we are blessed to have her here at Ashe Memorial Hospital.”
Harris didn’t set out to be a nurse, but through experiences with her Grandma, she gravitated toward healthcare and quickly realized how much she loved it. Harris began working as a Certified Nursing Assistant in 2003, and after 17 years she was encouraged to go back to school for nursing.
“What I love most about my job is getting to know my patients and watching their progression,” Harris said. “Most of them come in so sick and so weak and watching them get better and stronger makes my heart happy.”
In addition to Harris, Abigail Aldrich, RN, Kiana Dillard, RN, Chris-Anna Donachy, RN, Michelle Pearce, RN, and Kayla Trivett, RN, 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.
