The Barnes meet DAISY Award recipients and program co-chairs. From left, Mark Barnes, Rachel Hurd, Jennifer Mosaheb, Bonnie Barnes, Monica Gada, Cathy Benedict, Lorelei Dwyer, Christine Curley, Stewart Fenniman and Christine McNeil.

If there’s one thing Mark Barnes, FAAN, wants nurses to know, it’s that they are heroes.

During a recent visit with DAISY Award recipients at the Brigham, Barnes and his wife, Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, thanked them for going above and beyond to care for patients and their families.

Rachel Hurd presents the Healer’s Touch statue to Cathy Benedict.

“Every single day, you do something that makes you a hero in the eyes of your patients,” said Barnes, during the Nov. 8 event in the Shapiro Cardiovascular Center porch. “Thank you for being nurses and heroes.”

The Barnes family founded the DAISY Foundation and award to honor nurses in memory of their son, J. Patrick Barnes, who passed away from complications of an auto-immune disease in 1999. Approximately 3,400 health care facilities and schools of nursing around the world honor nurses with the DAISY Award, including the Brigham, which launched the program one year ago.

Bonnie spoke about how the DAISY Foundation has helped to keep Patrick’s spirit alive: “We can never say enough about all that you do every day,” she said.

Maddy Pearson, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, chief nursing officer and senior vice president, Patient Care Services, thanked the Barnes family for their visit and establishing the award and foundation. “To see that you found a way to turn your devastating loss into something so beautiful for nurses all over the world is truly inspiring, and we are grateful to you,” she said.

Pearson also said DAISY recipients demonstrate the humanity and compassion that are the heart of the profession. Each month, the Brigham honors one nurse, nominated by a patient or patient’s loved ones, for going above and beyond to care for a patient. (See related story.)
Christine McNeil, BSN, RN, and Rachel Ann Hurd, BSN, RN, of the Neurosciences Intermediate Care Unit and co-chairs of the Brigham’s DAISY Award program, said that they have received 1,200 nominations since the program began.

During the event, Cathy Benedict, RN, of Medical Oncology, received the November award. She was nominated by the wife of a patient, who said Benedict could always anticipate her husband’s needs, advocate for him and improve his overall well-being.

She wrote, “Cathy is so intuitive, it is really amazing, and she goes above and beyond to ensure my husband is in good spirits. She even organized a birthday party on her day off for our son so that he got to spend his special day with his dad. She is the best, most caring, compassionate person and nurse, and we are so blessed to have her care for my husband.”

The event concluded with guests enjoying cinnamon buns—a DAISY Award tradition.