Cancer Center Infusion Team Recognized with DAISY Team Award

Pictured, left to right: LeAnn Johnson, RN OCN; Shawn Gould, RN; Jenni Sayles, RN, BSN, OCN; Julie Larson, RN, OCN; Kate Sayles, RN, BSN, OCN; Nicole Janssen, RN; Janelle Umbarger, RN; Amber Frehner, RN; Cheryl Mingee, RN, BSN; Melinda Straub, RN, BSN, OCN; Deanna Piper, RN, OCN; Marcia Limoges, RN, BSN, OCN

Chief Physician Officer Joshua Jones, MD, and Chief Nursing Officer Vickie Swanson, RN, recently presented the Olympic Medical Cancer Center infusion team with the DAISY Team Award for Extraordinary Nurses®. The award, created by the DAISY Foundation, recognizes the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care provided to patients and families every day.

Dr. Jones recognized the group of nurses for the compassion, care and safety they bring to every patient. “Nursing is an incredibly special profession. Oncology nursing is a special among specials,” said Dr. Jones. “Your team’s attention to safety – for each and every patient, with each and every order, and with each and every interaction – is obvious to me. It’s obvious to the organization. It’s obvious to the patients.”

Julie Larson, RN, is the nursing supervisor for the team and leaned into honoring the extraordinary group of nurses, saying “We have the greatest infusion team there is.”

The infusion team was nominated for the DAISY award by an anonymous staff member, who wrote:

Every nurse in the Infusion Department is amazing and demonstrates every day the qualities of nurses. Each one brings strength, care, positive spirits and dedication every day to the people they serve, the unit they work in and the profession they have chosen. It is an honor, privilege and joy to work with them.

I have had the privilege of observing these nurses go above and beyond to make every patient comfortable, perform their job with safety first, following guidelines and evidenced-based protocols. Every one of these nurses deserves to be acknowledged for the superior care they provide to the patients and to each other. They work together as one for the benefit of our patients and each other. They are a credit to our profession.

The recognized infusion team consists of:

• Julie Larson, RN, OCN, Nursing Supervisor
• Amber Frehner, RN
• Shawn Gould, RN
• Becky Haskins, RN, BSN
• Nicole Janssen, RN
• LeAnn Johnson, RN, OCN
• Marcia Limoges, RN, BSN, OCN
• Dottie Maupin, RN, BSN
• Deanna Piper, RN, OCN
• Janlyn Robinson, RN, BSN, OCN
• Jenni Sayles, RN, MSN, OCN
• Kate Sayles, RN, MSN, OCN
• Melinda Straub, RN, BSN, OCN

Olympic Medical nurses and teams may be nominated by patients, families and colleagues. Each honoree receives a certificate commending her or him as an “Extraordinary Nurse.”  The certificate reads: “In deep appreciation of all you do, who you are, and the incredibly meaningful difference you make in the lives of so many people.”  Honorees also receive a DAISY Award pin and a meaningful, hand-carved sculpture called A Healer’s Touch. A cross-functional committee of healthcare workers reviews the nominations and selects the final nominee.

Go to www.olympicmedical.org/thank-a-nurse for more information or to nominate an extraordinary Olympic Medical Center nurse or nursing team.

About the DAISY Foundation

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family.  Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of an auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem.)  The care Patrick 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. More information can be found at DAISYfoundation.org.