Daisy Award Winners

The DAISY Foundation was established in 1999 by family members of Patrick Barnes. Patrick was 33 years old when he died from complications of ITP. The Barnes family wanted to find a way to turn their grief into something positive and that would honor the very special man Patrick was. The family came up with DAISY - an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.

As the family brainstormed what The DAISY Foundation would do, they kept coming back to the amazing care Patrick - and all the family - received from his nurses throughout his 8 week illness.. The family was impressed with the clinical care Pat's nurses provided, and overwhelmed by the level of compassion and kindness that his nurses brought to Pat's bedside day in and day out. The family came to understand that the communication and attention being given to Pat was a very important part of the clinical care nurses provide.

As a result of their experience, The Barnes family believes that nurses are unsung heroes of our society who deserve far more recognition and honor than they receive. They decided to find a way to go around the country and say thank you to nurses. Pat's wife, Tena, Dianne, Bonnie and Mark created The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. What started out as a thank you from the Barnes family to Patrick's nurses has grown into a meaningful recognition program embraced by more than 1900 healthcare organizations around the world.

Meet our amazing nurses who have won a DAISY award.