Melissa Hernandez, R.N., has been recognized as a DAISY Award winner by FirstHealth of the Carolinas. Hernandez, who works in Reid Heart Center, was nominated by the family member of a patient she cared for.
The family member said Hernandez was “remarkably gifted and caring,” highlighting several moments that stood out as Hernandez helped care for her father.
“What distinguished her from most was her genuine concern for him. He was ill and very confused about where he was due to his dementia. Recognizing this, she talked to him and not at him. She asked how he felt, told him often how good a patient he was and how much she hoped he was feeling better,” the family member wrote.
The family member also highlighted a moment just before her father went home.
“He had been dressed and was sitting in a recliner, but sitting in a chair is difficult for him, and he began to slide down to the point that most of him was no longer in the chair. Melissa rounded a corner, heard the alarm and immediately acted,” the family member said. “She gently pulled him back into the chair, changed his clothes and untangled the mass of cords that were underneath him. When he was comfortably settled, she thanked him for helping her and told him she was glad he was well enough to go home.”
Angela Stone, R.N., CSU Clinical Director, said Hernandez brings compassion into every interaction with patients.
“Melissa should be the model of what it means To Care for People. She is so genuine in the care she provides,” Stone said. “The kindness shows on her face and in her eyes as she talks and cares for patients. Melissa’s love for nursing is obvious and this is a career that comes naturally for her because it allows her to do what she loves.”
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.
