Two at Memorial Medical Center recognized as Extraordinary Nurses

LAS CRUCES - Two nurses at Memorial Medical Center were recently honored with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care they provide patients and families every day.

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 Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon 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.

Nurses may be nominated by patients, families and colleagues.

The DAISY Award recipients at Memorial Medical Center for the second quarter of 2020 are Brian Hernandez and Patrisha Orona. 

As part of the nomination, a family member wrote about Hernandez and the care he gave their grandmother.

“I can remember rushing to the ED, arriving and waiting for what seemed like forever for my grandmother to return to her ED room. It was very noticeable that she was having a stroke. And even though the next few hours are a blur, the one thing I can remember is the care that Brian Hernandez gave her. I knew the situation was critical, and Brian never left her side. In a time of stress and fear, he was an angel, shining over us that day.”

Orona made an impact by offering comfort to a patient when he needed it most and helping him through his lowest time.

“Our family was told that when he was feeling at his lowest point, it was nurse Trish Orona that sat with him and held his hand while giving him words of encouragement. This touched his heart in a very special way and thus touched the hearts of all his loved ones as well.”

More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org. Nurses may be nominated by patients, families and physicians. To nominate a nurse from Memorial for the DAISY Award online visit: DaisyNomination.org/mmclc.