DAISY Award Winner Recognized for Holzer
Lisa Milhoan, RN, BSN, Quality Disease Management Coordinator, was recently honored with The DAISY Award®. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's programs to recognize the above and beyond efforts nurses perform every day.
The nomination submitted by a recent Holzer patient read, “This nurse went above and beyond to be a reassuring comfort during my mom’s hospital stay. She checked in on my father and I not only in my mother’s CCU room but continued to take time to check on my mother in the medical surgical unit and chat with us any time she saw us. She even stopped in on a day that she did not have to be at work to sit and sing a little song with my mom because she knows my mom responds to music. I cannot thank this nurse enough for her caring and compassion during this rough time for my family. She is a person who genuinely makes the world a better place and Holzer feel warm and comfortable.”
DAISY stands for Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem. The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, CA, and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Patrick died at the age of 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 this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.
Said Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, CEO and Co-Founder of The DAISY Foundation, "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 Holzer are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award.”
Nominations for the DAISY award can be submitted by patients, patients’ family members, peers, and providers. The award honors LPNs and RNs across every division of care in the Holzer system, including: acute/hospital, post-acute/long-term care, and ambulatory/outpatient. Nomination forms can be found throughout all Holzer facilities and online at www.holzer.org/DAISY-award. The nominations are verified before being shared with the Holzer DAISY committee to evaluate and score the applicants each month. In nominating an individual, a specific example or scenario of the nurse going above and beyond for a patient is required on the nomination form.
“The DAISY Award program shines a light on all the right,” shared Susan Rowe, RN, MSN, CENP, C-EFM, CLS, Vice President, Nursing Services, Holzer Health System. “Through this program, we are able to meaningfully recognize the extraordinary contributions of nurses, and their efforts to create and sustain healthy work environments. We are honored to formally recognize Natalie as a recipient of the DAISY award.
Milhoan began her career at Holzer in January 2016 on the 4 West Step Down Unit. She received her nursing degrees from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.
When asked about working at Holzer, she shared, “I love having the privilege of providing care and comfort to those in my own community. I look forward to coming to work each day, as it is an honor to be entrusted in providing care for others when they are in their greatest need. This job provides me with the feeling that I am making a difference. There is no better pathway to true happiness and joy than through serving others, and Holzer provides the opportunity for me to do just that, while also providing financially for my family close to home. There have been many bittersweet experiences with patients, family, and fellow coworkers that I will always cherish in my heart. My mother has said about Holzer that she has never been somewhere where everyone is so kind and always has a smile. I am proud to be a part of a hospital she is comfortable with and to everyone, feels like home.”
Milhoan and her husband, Greg, reside in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. They have eight children, Lexie, Haley, Joseph, Hannah, Ryan, Russell, Eric and Sarah. Her hobbies include reading, staying active, motivating others, and spending time with family.
When asked about receiving the award, Milhoan responded, “Receiving the DAISY Award leaves me in awe of the genuine kindness and thoughtfulness of a family member, despite going through such uncertain times, takes their time to acknowledge a nurse for doing what they simply have been called to do. Mother Theresa stated that ‘Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.’ This is a motto I live by who came from someone who knows true happiness from giving a beautiful example.”
To learn more about this program how The DAISY Award recognizes extraordinary nurses, please visit DAISYFoundation.org. To nominate an extraordinary Holzer nurse, visit www.holzer.org/DAISY-award or fill out a paper form at one of our locations.
-30
