PROVIDENCE – Women & Infants Hospital presented Kathy Falaguerra of Warwick, a nurse on the Mother/Baby Unit, with the Daisy Award, in conjunction with the Daisy Foundation, recognizing her diligent care and advice for a couple and their newborn following a stressful birth.
The national award is part of the Daisy Foundation’s program to honor the “super-human work nurses do for patients and families every day.”
The infant’s first-time mother nominated Kathy for the award, writing about how she was instrumental in getting timely treatment for the baby, whose bilirubin levels were high. High levels of bilirubin, a yellow pigment in blood usually filtered out by the liver, is a sign of stress in newborns, according to healthline.com.
“She helped teach my husband and me the ‘ins and outs’ of caring for a new baby. She helped me nurse the baby endless times, and also taught my husband how to help. Her friendly smile and awesome attitude helped ease all the stress and anxiety we felt about being new parents … Thank you, Kathy, for awesome clinical judgement for our baby – and for being an extraordinary nurse taking care of my baby and me.”
The nonprofit Daisy Foundation, based in Glen Ellen, Calif., and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes.
Patrick died at 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired the award to thank nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.
“When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide patients every day and night. Yet these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for the super-human work they do. The kind of work the nurses at Women & Infants Hospital are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The Daisy Award,” said Bonnie Barnes, president and co-founder of the Daisy foundation.
Nurses can be nominated at the Daisy Foundation’s website.
Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer.
