Starr Regional Medical Center recognizes Abigail Newberry as DAISY Award Recipient

Starr Regional Medical Center announced today that Abigail Newberry, RN, has been named the recipient of The DAISY Award for the first quarter of 2022. The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses is a recognition program honoring “the super-human work nurses do for patients and families every day.” Nominations for the award may be submitted by anyone who experiences or observes extraordinary, compassionate care being provided by a nurse.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has made us all aware of the heroic efforts of our nursing staff, who are always on the front lines caring for our patients,” said Ronald Hall, RN, Chief Nursing Officer at Starr Regional Medical Center. “While there are many nurses at Starr Regional Medical Center who are worth of The DAISY Award, I was honored to present the award to Abigail Newberry in recognition of the care, concern and support she provides for both her patients and colleagues.”

Newberry’s nomination for the award highlighted her kind and gentle spirit and her willingness to take extra steps to assist her patients and co-workers. “There is something to be said about a nurse who takes that extra step to make sure that everyday care, such as brushing and washing a patient’s hair, is carried out in a time when our hospital is so busy due to COVID,” said Newberry’s co-worker in a letter nominating her for the award. The nominator also added that Newberry is always willing to help her co-workers by picking up extra shifts when there is a staffing shortage and volunteering to help with extra projects, including developing an educational in-service program for staff members.

Newberry joined Starr Regional Medical Center as a staff nurse in 2017 as a patient care technician. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Pensacola Christian College in Pensacola, Fla. As a registered nurse, Newberry has worked in the Medical and Surgical Unit and Intensive Care Unit. She assumed her role as nursing supervisor in 2021. Newberry earned Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) certification, a specialty certification for nurses providing direct beside care to acutely and/or critically ill adult patients.

The DAISY Award honorees are selected by a committee of nurses at Starr Regional Medical Center who thoroughly review and consider each nomination. The presentation of the award is a surprise and takes place in the presence of the nurse's colleagues, patients, and visitors. Each honoree receives a certificate commending her or him for being an "Extraordinary Nurse." The certificate reads: "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 are also given a sculpture called “A Healer's Touch,” which is hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa.

The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation, based in Glen Ellen, Calif., was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who 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 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. For more information about the DAISY Foundation, visit DAISYFoundation.org.

If you would like to nominate a nurse for the DAISY Award, forms are available in the hospital common areas as well as the nursing units on Starr Regional Medical Center's Athens and Etowah campuses. Nomination forms may also be found online on The DAISY Award page. The DAISY Award program is open to nurses only, such as LPNs, RNs, and nurse practitioners. If non-nurses receive a nomination, they will be recognized separately from The DAISY Award program.