Port Huron, MI – Debra Stockwell, BSN, RN, is the recipient of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. Stockwell has been a nurse at McLaren Port Huron for 38 years and currently is a Nurse Educator. The award presentation took place Friday, May 6, to begin the hospital’s celebration of National Nurses Week.
The DAISY Award is an international recognition program that honors and celebrates the extraordinary care nurses provide patients and families every day. Stockwell was nominated by a coworker who saw her outstanding clinical skills, extraordinary compassion and personalized care given to patients. She was presented with a framed certificate, DAISY Award pin and a meaningful sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.
The nomination reads:
“We had a patient who was a “frequent flyer” with COPD and other medical concerns. On one admission the patient required a colostomy bag. The follow-up wound care prescribed proved challenging – it was difficult to change or seal the stoma bag properly – resulting in leakage, infections, extremely sore skin and pain. The patient became emotionally and physically drained. Debbie, with her plethora of knowledge and tireless efforts, worked hard to figure out a way to seal the bag and decrease the pain and irritation for the patient. She was available any time (day or night) to educate other staff RNs caring for this patient. On her own time, she worked with the staff at the extended care facility to educate their staff on how to care for this patient.
Debbie has been a nurse here at McLaren Port Huron for over 40 years. Her optimism, passion and dedication to learning is not just a one-time event. Her exemplary reliability and loyalty to patients, coworkers and physicians has been appreciated by many over the years. Debbie continually sacrifices her own time to ensure a project comes together perfectly which will impact and benefit staff and patients. It would be tough to find an RN or aide that has not profited from Debbie’s compassion or knowledge. Unmatched and unrivaled as a role model, Debbie is the epitome of the attributes all RNs should look to emulate.”
The DAISY Foundation was established by the family of J. Patrick Barnes after he died at age 33 from complications of the auto-immune disease ITP. The Barnes family was awestruck by the skills, caring and compassion of the nurses who cared for Patrick, so they created the DAISY Award as a way to say thank you to nurses everywhere.
Nurses can be nominated for the DAISY Award by patients, families or colleagues. To nominate a nurse, visit www.mclaren.org/mphDaisy and complete the online form.
Submitted by McLaren Port Huron Hospital
