11/18/2015 - Gracie Newman, R.N. at Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett, was honored with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. This national award recognizes nurses for the excellent care they provide to patients.

Newman joined Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett in December 2014 as part of the Versant RN New Graduate Residency program. She began working full-time at the hospital in March 2015. Newman was selected as a Daisy Award recipient based on nominations from her peers and letters from patients and their families.

“My grandparents were in an auto accident when I was a child,” said Newman. “My grandfather was very fortunate to receive excellent nursing care on his road to recovery. That inspired me to become a nurse. I feel blessed to receive the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, and hope I can provide the same type of nursing care to our patients that was provided to my grandfather.”

Newman was presented with a certificate commending her for being an “Extraordinary Nurse.” She also received a Healer’s Touch sculpture, hand carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa. The sculpture represents the respect the Shona people give their traditional healers.

The DAISY Award, an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System, is a national program that began in 2001 by the DAISY Foundation in Glen Ellen, California. The DAISY Foundation was started by the family of J. Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, a bleeding condition in which the blood doesn't clot properly. Deeply touched by the compassionate care Patrick received from his nurses, the Barnes family created the national DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses to recognize the incredible work that nurses do every day.