HomePress RoomExtraordinary nurse Mary Nowinsky earns DAISY Award at Aspirus Wausau Hospital

Extraordinary nurse Mary Nowinsky earns DAISY Award at Aspirus Wausau Hospital

  • Published: 6/15/2017

Aspirus Wausau Hospital honored Mary Nowinsky, RN, from our cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses in recognition for her commitment and patient centered approach to care. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day.

Aspirus Wausau Hospital DAISY Award recipients are nurses recognized for meeting and exceeding the needs and expectations of patients and families by displaying our core values.

Nowinsky was nominated for the DAISY Award by the family member of a patient. Mary and her co-workers were treated to cinnamon rolls which honor the memory of the late Patrick Barnes who once ate his father’s Cinnamon roll when he was in the hospital without an appetite for food. He then requested one for the next day - and enough for all the nurses in the unit. The hope is that whenever a nurse smells that wonderful cinnamon aroma, they’ll stop for a minute and think of how special they are for being a nurse. Mary also received a certificate and a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa. A celebratory banner will hang in the CICU for one month, generating very positive conversation about the special role nurses play in patient care.

Established in 1999, the family of J. Patrick Barnes created the DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem) Award to honor his memory with a tribute to the skillful and compassionate care he received from his nurses during his hospitalization. Today, more than 2,000 health care facilities in every state and 15 countries honor nurses with the DAISY Award.

Nurses may be nominated by patients, families and visitors, and they are chosen by a committee of nurses at Aspirus Wausau Hospital to receive The DAISY Award. Awards are given throughout the year at presentations given in front of the nurse’s colleagues, physicians, patients, and visitors. Congratulations Mary!