Jacksonville, Texas (May 14, 2021) — Misty Wilburn, RN, with UT Health Jacksonville, was selected by UT Health East Texas as a DAISY Award winner.
“This award is for nurses who provide excellent patient care,” said Michael Hales, UT Health Jacksonville chief nursing officer. “While many people are excellent nurses, when someone takes the time to write about their experience – that’s special.”
Nurses may be nominated by patients, families and colleagues and the award recipient is chosen by a committee at UT Health East Texas. Wilburn received a formal nomination from a family member of one of her patients.
“She sat with my father-in-law during the times we had to leave the room to fill out paperwork. When we left for a few minutes to get something to eat, she continued to sit by his bedside. She talked to him and held his hand and assured him that he was not alone,” the nomination read.
“Misty’s kindness and compassion, along with her supervisory skills, provided so much peace and comfort to our family during a very stressful time. She has a heart of gold and went above and beyond for us,” the family member continued. “There is no way to pay that back, but I felt everyone should know about the angel that she is and how lucky we are that she was there for us.”
As a winner of the DAISY Award, Wilburn received a certificate, a DAISY Award pin and a sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe. Awards are presented throughout the year at celebrations attended by the honoree’s colleagues, patients and visitors.
The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died in 1999 at age 33 from complications of an autoimmune disease (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.) The care Barnes and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families. Today, this program has been implemented in more the 1,900 healthcare facilities, including UT Health East Texas