Mary Beth Hernandez, R.N., has been recognized as a DAISY Award winner by FirstHealth of the Carolinas.
Hernandez, a nurse with FirstHealth Hospice and Palliative Care, was nominated by the family member of a patient she helped care for in November of 2019.
“My father perked up every time Mary Beth came to visit him. He might have been in a lot of pain, but he smiled when she entered the room,” the family member wrote, describing her father’s interaction with Hernandez.
“Dad recognized her wisdom and expertise, and he trusted her fully. What Mary Beth said to do became the law for him.”
The family member said she and Hernandez shared laughter and tears routinely during the final days of her father’s life, but she said Hernandez was always focused on providing the best possible care.
“She was his advocate and he realized that, and he totally trusted her judgement. She served through compassion throughout these past months and that was evident when she came to the house the morning Dad passed away,” the woman wrote. “She prepared Dad’s body and helped to dress him…but her compassion did not end that fateful morning. She called to check on us later and then attended dad’s funeral service.”
Nurse supervisor Sharon Moore said Hernandez has a caregiver’s heart and always goes the extra mile to help patients.
“Mary Beth is one of the most compassionate nurses I know. She advocates for her patients and won’t stop until the patient gets what they need,” Moore said. “She doesn’t hesitate to go to bat for them.”
The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses was established by the Daisy Foundation, a not-for-profit, based in Glen Ellen, Calif. The foundation was started by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at the age of 33 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura, a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease.
The care Barnes and his family received from nurses inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patients’ families.
Today, there are more than 2,800 health care facilities in all 50 states and 17 other countries honoring their nurses with the DAISY Award.
FirstHealth of the Carolinas, which includes Moore Regional Hospital, Moore Regional Hospital – Richmond, Moore Regional Hospital – Hoke and Montgomery Memorial Hospital, recognizes an extraordinary nurse each month, and has since 2014.
For more information on the DAISY Award, or to nominate a deserving nurse, visit FirstHealth’s website.
