ICU nurse wins 2019 DAISY Award

Rock Springs — Janelle Scott, an Intensive Care Unit registered nurse at Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County, is the 2019 DAISY Award recipient.

The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care they provide patients and families every day.

Scott was nominated for the award by the family of Ed Sidwell, who died in October 2018.

“I would like to nominate Janelle Scott for her skillful, compassionate care of my husband in his last week of life,” Cindy Sidwell said in her nomination.

“Janelle is exceptional and truly embodies the qualities of the DAISY Award,” Sidwell said. “She’s professional and caring and goes the extra mile to take care of her patients. She was kind and knowledgeable and one of the friendly faces I could trust when Ed was in the ICU.

“I am eternally grateful for Janelle’s extra kindness and professionalism during Ed’s last days,” she said. “In spite of my tremendous loss, one good nurse (Janelle) has made my experience with Memorial Hospital a good one, for that I am thankful.”

Other nurses who received DAISY recognition include registered nurses Melissa Munoz and Afton Smith, both nurses on the medical/surgical floor.

“It’s an honor to be a nurse,” said Chief Nursing Officer Kristy Nielson. “And it’s an honor to work with these three nurses.”

Each honoree received a certificate: “In deep appreciation of all you do, who you are, and the incredibly meaningful difference you make in the lives of so many people.” Honorees also receive a DAISY Award pin and a sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. Barnes died at age 33 in late 1999 from complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic urpura, a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.) The care Barnes and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.