St. Joseph Medical Center announced today that NICU nurse Tiffany Tran, RN was the recipient of the 3rd Quarter DAISY Award, celebrating the skillful and compassionate care she provides to patients daily. 

Tran received the distinction for recently going above and beyond for a new mother who was in isolation. She constructed a personalized card with the baby’s footprint and included a positive message. 

“Tiffany always looks for ways to advocate for our patients and include parents in the daily activities within the NICU unit. She makes the parents cards from their babies, custom onesies on special occasions, and celebrates their graduation from the NICU,” said Nikki Devillier, NICU nurse manager at St. Joseph Medical Center. “She is always seeking ways to show appreciation to the NICU staff with treats and other goodies, and always shows a willingness to help others, regardless of the circumstances.”

Tran, who is known for going above and beyond for the hospital’s tiniest patients, including creating home-made Halloween costumes, was nominated for the award by a nurse in the intensive care unit (ICU).  Tran and her fellow nurses were taking care of a patient in NICU while the patient’s mother was being cared for in the ICU.

“She not only made a card for the mother from the baby but brought it from the Women’s Center and hand-delivered it to the mother after her 12-hour shift,” said Matthew Arroyo, RN, who submitted Tran for the award.  “Tiffany went out of her way to lift the spirits and bring joy to this new mom. This kind gesture was just one example of how Tiffany demonstrates care and compassion for her patients.” 

The DAISY Award, created in 1999, was established by the family of J. Patrick Barnes after he died from complications of an auto-immune disease. He and his family sincerely appreciated how his nurses cared for him and felt compelled to say “thank you” in a public way. Today, more than 4,500 health care facilities and schools of nursing in all 50 states and 28 other countries participate in the program to recognize outstanding nurses. 

Each DAISY Award Honoree is recognized at a public ceremony and receives a beautiful certificate, a DAISY Award pin, and a hand-carved stone sculpture entitled, “A Healer’s Touch.” 

For more information about the DAISY program, visit the Daisy Foundation.