Sidra Medicine hosted the third DAISY Awards recently to thank and recognize its nurses for their hard work, compassion and skill. The awards, which were launched by Sidra Medicine last year, were hosted by the Sidra Medicine Nursing team under Chief Nursing Officer Professor Mary Boyd and the founders of the DAISY Foundation, Bonnie and Mark Barnes, who were visiting Qatar for the first time.
Professor Mary Boyd, Chief Nursing Officer, in her opening speech highlighted that the Nurses are testament to the quality and caliber of an experienced nursing team that Sidra Medicine is proud to have established. “What is unique about the recognition bestowed to Sidra nurses is that they have been acknowledged for their contribution in helping set up a greenfield facility and the role they play in the wider healthcare community. We are also very pleased to have Bonnie and Mark from the DAISY Foundation for travelling from the USA to join the ceremony. Their presence has made the awards so much more special and commemorative for everyone in attendance.”
A total of eight Sidra Medicine nurses were nominated by their colleagues. The winner Laura Corbett was selected by a judging panel consisting of the Rewards and Recognition Council which is part of the newly formed Nursing Shared Governance at Sidra Medicine. Laura who is the Clinical Nurse Leader for the Birthing Center at Sidra Medicine and was awarded on the basis of her role in developing relationships within the Doha community, both in her capacity as nurse at Sidra Medicine and her role as a clinical instructor in the Nursing Program at the University of Calgary Qatar. Laura was recognized for her close association with community based focus groups, campaigns related to Birth Plans, Breastfeeding initiatives and her approach towards inspiring the next generation of nursing students from Qatar.
“Our work is to celebrate and honor the extremely important role that nurses play in taking care of patients and their families. We are proud beyond words to be here in Qatar to celebrate the contribution that the nurses at Sidra Medicine have made. We know what a difference nurses can make and we experienced this when our son was ill. And when he passed away, we knew we had to find a way to spread the word about how important nurses are to great healthcare. It is inspiring that there are now over 1,900 health organizations worldwide who honor nurses with DAISY Awards. The nursing team at Sidra Medicine is going to be doing incredible work and we are proud that they are now being honored with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses as they are indeed extraordinary,” said Bonnie Barnes, Co-Founder and President of the DAISY Foundation.
The DAISY Award was established by the DAISY Foundation, which was set up in the U.S. by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, who died in 1999 from an auto-immune disease. DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The care that Patrick and his family received from nurses during his hospitalization inspired a unique means of thanking nurses who have gone above and beyond their daily routine to ensure patients receive exceptional care. For more information see: http://daisyfoundation.org/daisy-award