St. Joseph's/Candler DAISY Team Award winners
We'd like to congratulate all our DAISY Team Award winners. The DAISY Team Award includes not only nurses, but also respiratory therapists, unit clerks, PCTs and other caregivers. Nominations are submitted internally. For winning, everyone on the unit receives a DAISY Team pin and a certificate. A DAISY Team banner will temporary hang on the unit that one representative will sign while a plaque recognizing the win will permanently hang in the unit.
Candler ICU
It was a celebratory first at St. Joseph’s/Candler on Nov. 6, 2024, as we recognized the first ever DAISY Team Award to the Candler Hospital Intensive Care Unit. Candler ICU’s nomination came from Reema Ahmed, the Candler ICU manager. It reads:
“The staff in Candler ICU makes a great team. They represent how a unit is supposed to be like. They work together, care and go out of their way for patients and their families. We had a patient who was with us off and on for months. She was on the ventilator for a long time. The nurses, PCTs and RTs worked tirelessly with her. When she did her breathing trials, we encouraged her and held her hand so she knew she wasn’t alone. It was so wonderful to see her off the vent and going home. Some of us still keep in touch with her.
Another patient we had became a family member to us. She started off in PCU then came to ICU. She had long COVID and ended up on the vent. At one point she was heavily sedated and paralyzed. We all would stop by and see her and her family. Her husband and daughters became just as important as staff. When she went to long-term rehab, we followed up with her and would go visit her every chance we got. It was so nice to see her getting discharged and going home after months of being hospitalized. She comes to visit and brings us cookies every chance she gets.
The team we have in ICU doesn’t hesitate to go out of their way. We have recorded heartbeats for patients who were dying so their loved ones could remember them. We have made memory boxes and Face Timed/called loved ones so they could say their goodbyes. The staff in ICU is a family and we also celebrate milestones in our lives like weddings, baby showers, etc. When one of our own co-worker’s son was hospitalized, we made sure to make a care package. Some of the staff donated PTO. This is a unit where we all work together and make a difference in everyone’s lives. I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else and am so proud to manage such an amazing team of nurses, PCTs, RTs and unit clerks.”
What an amazing testament to the job well done by every co-worker on ICU. Congratulations on being the first DAISY Team Award winning unit.