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Memorial Medical Center nurses receive Daisy awards for ‘selfless actions’

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Two Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses at Memorial Medical Center (MMC) were honored in November with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses for their selfless and live-saving actions, MMC said in a news release.

The awards are presented by the nonprofit DAILY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Foundation, which was created in November 1999 to honor nurses across the country. The foundation was established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes by his family after his death at age 33 from complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, an auto-immune disease. The care Barnes received from hospital nurses inspired the award.

MMV award recipients for the third quarter of 2021 are Karl Ngoye and Emily Biad.

Ngoye was nominated by a community member who called the ICU in her greatest time of need, while Biad was nominated by the daughter of an ICU patient, MMC said.

“Words alone cannot explain how grateful I am to Karl for saving my life and giving me another chance to breathe and live again,” wrote the nominator. “I don’t want to talk about the circumstances that led up to me trying to commit suicide on that evening … I called a few friends that night and no one answered their phone. Frustrated, I popped all the pills and with a knife on my vein, I was ready to take my life away. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I decided I will make one last phone call. I picked up my phone, dialed a random number and Karl, not knowing who I was, answered the phone. The rest is history.

“Every morning when I would wake up, I would cry in gratitude thankful to Karl for saving my life on that dreadful night I was so close to taking it away,” she added in her nomination. “The 46 minutes, 16 seconds he stayed talking with me on the phone while on shift saved my life.”

A patient’s daughter nominated Emily Biad for the award.

“During some of our darkest days, we were greeted by phenomenal nurses who gave top-notch, life-saving care to our mom while showing true compassion and care for our family,” she wrote of her experience in Memorial’s ICU. “While many on the nursing staff were amazing, Emily was a true angel in scrubs. She took the time to explain the need for each medication and she had the knowledge to detail signs of progress. She had the patience to gracefully tend to all our requests to wash out our mom’s mouth, clear her eyes and moisturize her lips.”

“My mother is alive today thanks to all the angels that grace the Memorial Medical Center hallways.”

“We are proud that our participation in the DAISY Program is a powerful way we continue to honor the hard work of our nurses,” said MMC Chief Nursing Officer Caryn Iverson. “Recognition and celebration mean more now than ever before as nurses tackle the challenges of Covid-19 in addition to their usual roles.”

Nurses may be nominated for the DAISY award by patients, families and physicians. Recipients are chosen by an MMC committee. Visit www.mmclc.org/daisy-award to nominate a nurse.


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