Feature
A Movement Rooted in Gratitude
How the DAISY Award Transformed nursing recognition
Twelve years ago, a frightened 15-year-old arrived in the NICU at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). Maria Lara had just given birth, and her baby, whom she named James, had gastroschisis, which would require surgery and prolonged intensive care. Maria was overwhelmed and felt ashamed, unsure, and unprepared.
Then she met a nurse, Sarah Harwig, RN, BSN, CLC, who changed everything.
“She didn’t judge me,” Maria later wrote. “She made me feel worthy and respected. Like I could actually be a mom.” The nurse guided her through complex medical decisions and the emotional terrain of parenting a critically ill newborn.
Today, that baby is a healthy adolescent boy who proudly jokes that he doesn’t have a belly button. As for his mother, she eventually became a NICU nurse herself!
Earlier this year, Maria returned to CHLA to present a DAISY Award to Sarah, the nurse who changed her life.
There was not a dry eye in the room.
For hospitals like CHLA, supporting The DAISY Award has become foundational. More than 8,000 healthcare facilities and nursing schools across 47 countries now participate in the program.
From Grief to Global Impact
Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, and her husband Mark co-founded The DAISY Foundation in 1999 after losing their son Patrick to complications of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a rare autoimmune disorder. (“DAISY” is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem.) Overwhelmed by the compassion and clinical skill of the nurses who cared for him, they wanted to say thank you.
Originally, the Barnes family didn’t dream of building a worldwide organization. They simply hoped that if they could honor nurses in a few hospitals with an award thanking them for their dedication, the family might begin to heal.
Since then, this deeply personal act of gratitude has grown into an international movement that has reshaped how nurses are recognized, valued, and celebrated.
“Never in a million years did I think we would have this impact,” says Bonnie. “It is more gratifying than I can say.”
Honoring Nurses Wherever They Practice
Initially, the award program focused on bedside nurses. However, The DAISY Foundation leadership began to hear from healthcare organizations that there were few formal recognition structures for educators and preceptors, so the program expanded to include them.
The DAISY Foundation now also partners with other nursing organizations to recognize nurses and nurse-led teams in ethics, healthcare policy, and patient safety, as well as Magnet and Pathway program directors.
The Foundation offer two types of research and project grants: the first for projects that impact treatment for patients with autoimmune diseases or cancer, and the second for ones aimed at improving health outcomes by addressing social determinants of health.
DAISY honorees can also apply for grants to fund their expenses while volunteering for medical missions or to cover the cost of attending a continuing education conference.
Bonnie notes that many of the foundation’s best ideas have come from nurses, and that collaborative spirit has fueled the program’s ongoing relevance.
Recognition Equals Reinforcement
In any organization, recognition reinforces behavior, behavior shapes culture, and culture sustains behavior. To cultivate compassionate practice, it’s vital to recognize it.
Navigating clinical complexity while also supporting patients and worried families in vulnerable moments requires immense emotional intelligence. Nurses must often go beyond clinical competence to help families navigate fear and build confidence.
Embedding The DAISY Award in an organization’s “DNA” helps to shine a light on those moments of excellence, which in turn helps to promote and sustain them while also strengthening morale and engagement.
Extraordinary Is Everywhere
Many nurses have long resisted the label “extraordinary,” downplaying their own moments of excellence by saying, “I’m just doing my job; I didn’t do anything special.”
By offering a formal, tangible way for patients, families, and colleagues to express their gratitude, The DAISY Award has helped to break through that modesty and demonstrate that extraordinary nursing is everywhere, if you look for it.
What began with one family’s grief has become a global movement to normalize gratitude in healthcare. Recognition is no longer an isolated event — today, many hospitals distribute brochures inviting families to nominate nurses, and peers routinely celebrate peers.
The DAISY Award has helped to elevate compassion as a central tenet of professional nursing practice. And, as the story of the young mother Maria and baby James demonstrates, the impact can sometimes circle back and resonate for years to come.
CANDY GOULETTE is a freelance healthcare journalist and Magnet Program writer/editor who has served as a communications professional for healthcare organizations for more than 35 years.
In this Article: Nursing Workforce
