Bellevue Hospital announces employee Awards

BELLEVUE --- As part of National Hospital Week, The Bellevue Hospital (TBH) announced the recipients of The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses ® and The BEE Award for Extraordinary Team Members on Wednesday, May 15 during a special presentation in the hospital's atrium. Katie Smith, a registered nurse in TBH's medical/surgical unit, received the DAISY Award. David Dominy, a dishwasher in Nutritional Services, was named the BEE Award recipient. "The Bellevue Hospital recognizes and embraces the strength behind good teamwork. In 2020, we introduced the DAISY Award for nursing excellence and then in 2022 we added the BEE Award for non-nursing team members," said Sara Brokaw, president and chief nursing officer. Nominations for both the DAISY and BEE are reviewed and recipients are chosen by a committee at The Bellevue Hospital each May. Honorees receive a certificate, a pin, a bag of gifts and a beautiful and meaningful sculpture hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe. DAISY Award recipient Katie Smith has been an employee at TBH since February 2022. Smith was one of 20 nurses to receive nominations. Smith's nominator, Tanya Halbeisen, was a patient who was admitted to the hospital after a robotic-assisted hysterectomy. Due to a few unexpected minor issues that came up in surgery, Dr. Fazio admitted Halbeisen to the medical/surgical unit for the night. "Upon arrival to the unit, I was greeted by Katie, got situated in bed, and told what to expect for the rest of her shift until 7 p.m. when she was scheduled to leave. However, from the moment I went up to Med-Surg, I did not feel well and was having an issue with my drainage tube and extreme discomfort with this. Being an RN myself for almost 30 years, I did know enough about the need for the tube, but I could tell that something did not feel right with how I was feeling despite her doing everything to reassure me it was draining fine." The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care nurses provide patients and families every day. The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon autoimmune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.) 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. More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org. The BEE award was introduced as a way to recognize non-nursing employees who go above and beyond for the hospital. "The BEE award was established in 2022 to recognize extraordinary team members in non-nursing roles that go above and beyond to make an impact outside of their day-to-day duties," said Lisa Sartain, TBH's vice president of human resources. "The support of these individuals is foundational to the exceptional care our nurses and providers give to our patients each and every day; they simply could not do this without the help of these team mates. So, just as the Daisy cannot survive without the BEE, nurses cannot survive without their team mates." David Dominy, who was among 26 staff members nominated, has been an employee at TBH since November 2001. According to the nomination: "If you've ever been stopped in the halls of TBH to hear a corny joke or silly comments about Miss Piggy or asked 'What do ya think?' -you know who my Bee Nominee is. Because of his unconditional kindness, humor and joy, he is always able to turn every mood into a good one! I've witnessed employees who have been busy, rushed, stressed and distracted by their cell phones, but...when this wonderful employee walks by and says: 'What did one casket say to the other casket? Is that you coffin?' Instantly everyone (regardless of previous moods or agendas), every TBH employee will always acknowledge my nominee with a big smile and a fun/friendly response! My nominee has also sung to TBH employees. When Lisa Mize of the Family Birthing Center (FBC) was nominated for the OHA Albert Dykes award, my nominee honored Lisa by singing a Tony Bennett song titled 'It Had to be You!' as family and FBC co-workers teared up with smiles! My nominee is always filled with fun, gentle simplicity who brings out the best in all of us at TBH. He's just peachy" Anyone who has recently been a patient at The Bellevue Hospital and would like to nominate a nurse for The DAISY Award, visit www.daisynomination.org/tbh. To nominate a support employee for the BEE award, visit https://www.bellevuehospital.com/bee-award-nomination.