Elizabeth McKernan, RN, is TidalHealth Peninsula Regional’s February Daisy Award recipient.
SALISBURY – Elizabeth McKernan, RN, of TidalHealth Peninsula Regional’s surgical services division, has been selected as the February 2024 recipient of the Daisy Award for her care and special attention.
Her nomination, below, was written by a patient’s family member, who is also a healthcare professional, to express their appreciation for the extraordinary care shown to their 92-year-old loved one.
My great grandfather was recently in the Salisbury hospital after experiencing a fall, which lead to a necrosis diagnosis in his toes from a diabetic wound, and an unfortunate and unsettling decision that he required an amputation above the knee.
At 92, he was still very much a self-sufficient, independent and self-caring man. He balanced his own books, drove himself around town and lived independently, so you can imagine the concerns we all had knowing what he was now facing.
As I work in the operating room, I was able to check on my “Pop” during his post-surgical recovery. Our family was so lucky to have Elizabeth caring for him, working diligently and quickly. She was his advocate, ensuring his IV lines were secured in place to provide him the pain medication he required.
Elizabeth showed extraordinary empathy, compassion and kindness. We are very fortunate at TidalHealth Peninsula Regional to have nurses like Elizabeth who work in the post anesthesia care unit (PACU).
McKernan was recently honored with the Daisy Award in a ceremony before her colleagues. She received certificates commending her for being an extraordinary nurse, and a sculpture called A Healer's Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.
The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, CA, and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little-known but not uncommon autoimmune disease.
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.
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