College of Nursing Alumni receive DAISY Awards

Two Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Nursing alumni recently received the honor of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The DAISY Award, which stands for diseases attacking the immune system, is a program created to honor the “super human work nurses do for patients and families every day.”

Andrew Barner, BSN, RN, Seton Medical Center Williamson Intensive Care Unit, and Tori Branyon, BSN, RN, Seton Medical Center Austin Intermediate Care are both members of the College of Nursing’s 2013 Round Rock Class.

The prestigious DAISY Award is given by the DAISY Foundation to recognize and thank nurses for the gifts they give to patients and families every day. The DAISY Foundation and award were formed in the memory of Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications of a rare autoimmune disorder. The Barnes family was so touched by the kindness and compassion of the nurses who delivered his medical care, that they created the Foundation.

“I am honored to be a recipient of the Daisy Award. I strive to put my patients’ needs first and perform patient centered care,” Barner said. “I tell all of my patients that I will treat them as if they were my parents.”

Barner and Branyon were presented with a certificate, a pin and a stone sculpture from Zimbabwe named “A Healer’s Touch,” hand carved by members of the Shona tribe, which greatly reveres its healers. The sculptures are made specifically for the DAISY Foundation and are the full-time source of income for 14 members of the tribe.

“It is an honor to be nominated and chosen for a Daisy.” Branyon said. “My aim is to treat each of my patients with compassion, provide them knowledge, and give them a touch of humor to keep things light. To have a ‘thanks’ in the form of this award is truly humbling.”

For more information on the DAISY Foundation, visit http://daisyfoundation.org/