Beebe Healthcare Presents DAISY Award to Extraordinary Nurse Karl Thomas

Nurses at Beebe Healthcare are being honored with The DAISY Award, a part of the DAISY Foundation’s national program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses make every day. Beebe presents the DAISY Award to nurses on a quarterly basis.

Beebe’s October recipient is Karl Thomas, RN, a nurse at the medical center on the Margaret H. Rollins Lewes campus, who was recognized for the compassionate, dignified, and expert care he provided to a patient in the ICU and her family.

“Karl was present for both my mother and all of us,” wrote the patient’s mother. “He explained her condition and all the tubes and drains, what each was for, and the goals for the day. His demeanor made such a difference. He was kind and adapted his language to address the audience. Since I am a nurse, he spoke to me as a colleague, to other members of my family he addressed a lay audience.

“His caring was evident in everything he did. Karl took care of my mom for three straight days. He washed her hair! In the ICU! When he came back after a day off, he checked on my mother and on us every day we were there even though he wasn’t her nurse. Through his caring, we formed a relationship that wasn’t broken by a different assignment.

“Karl knew we were there on vacation and were not familiar with physician groups or consults. He reassured us about the expertise of physicians and specialists that helped us decide to have my mom’s orthopaedic procedure done at Beebe before bringing her home. He was an advocate for my mom, and at the same time a supporter for the hospital and the medical staff. Mom was in an uncertain, uncomfortable, and potentially undignified situation, and he treated her with the dignity of a VIP.”

Karl was presented with a DAISY Award certificate and a hand-carved Healer’s Touch sculpture during a recent surprise ceremony. Each DAISY honoree receives the statue and the certificate, which commends the honoree for being an “Extraordinary Nurse.” It 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 not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, California, and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Patrick died at the age of 33 in 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon 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.

Nurses may be nominated by patients, families, and colleagues, and they are chosen by a committee of nurses at Beebe Healthcare to receive The DAISY Award. Awards are given throughout the year at presentations given in front of the nurse’s colleagues, physicians, patients, and visitors.

“Beebe is proud to be among the healthcare organizations participating in the DAISY Award program,” said Steve Rhone, Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer. “Nurses are heroes every day. It’s important that our nurses know their work is highly valued, and The DAISY Foundation provides a way for us to do that.”

To nominate a Beebe nurse for the DAISY Award, please visit www.beebehealthcare.org/forms/daisy-award. For a complete listing of healthcare organizations currently running the program, visit www.daisyfoundation.org.