Extraordinary nurses recognized at Tehachapi Hospital

May 7, 2015 – Nurses at Tehachapi Hospital are being honored with The DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform everyday.

Tehachapi Hospital honored two nurses with the DAISY Award as part of their Nurses’ Week celebration. The first award recipient is Carrie Shultz, RN who works in the Emergency Department. Carrie received the highest number of total compliments through the hospital’s Connect Call-back program. Patient’s comments about Carrie told us that she is very caring, sweet, gentle, and kind. Patients loved having Carrie as their nurse and she went out of her way to make sure that they were kept informed and well taken care of.

The second award recipient is Tracy Lankin, RN who works on the Medical unit of the hospital. Tracy role models patient advocacy, leadership, teamwork, communication, and commitment. She is sought out by our physicians, who trust her care of their patients because she takes the time to really listen and respond to her patients’ needs. Tracy loves to teach. She takes every opportunity to teach patients about their conditions and mentor our nursing staff. She doesn’t know the phrase “It’s not my job” and is always willing to help out. When she is not working at the hospital, Tracy donates her time to Tehachapi’s Relay for Life as a way to honor her father’s memory and raise funds for cancer research.

The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, CA, and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. 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. 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 will be nominated throughout the year by patients, families, and colleagues to receive The DAISY Award. The DAISY Award recipients will be honored during Nurses’ Week with a special celebration in front of the nurse’s colleagues, physicians, patients, and visitors. The honorees will receive a certificate commending her or him for being an “Extraordinary Nurse.” The certificate 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 honorees will also be given a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa.

Said Bonnie Barnes, President and Co-Founder of The DAISY Foundation, “When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide patients every day and night. Yet these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for the super-human work they do. The kind of work the nurses at Tehachapi Hospital are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award.”

Said Chief Nursing Officer Juliana Kirby, “We are proud to be among the hospitals participating in the DAISY Award program. Nurses are heroes everyday. The DAISY Award could not be launched at a better time. It’s important that our nurses know their work is highly valued, and The DAISY Foundation provides a way for us to do that.”

More information is available on their website at http://www.DAISYfoundation.org.