Memorial Announces Rika Armentor, RN July DAISY Foundation Award Winner

Memorial for Women NICU nurse Rika Armentor, RN is our latest DAISY Foundation award winner. Click here to read more about Rika.

From nominator:

Rika has given many years in service as a nurse to both Pedi/PICU and NICU. I worked under her when she was Director of the NICU. It was obvious that she gave her all to the unit to make it run as smoothly as possible. She cared a great deal about ensuring our unit gave the best care possible to our babies. She was so quick to jump in and help work the floor or go to deliveries despite her heavy daily workload. There were days she would stay late, come in early, and even come in on her off days to ensure the best care for the babies and her nurse were also taken care of. Many days Rika could be found around the unit talking to a patient family to comfort and ease tears. Working with Rika as she has returned to staff/floor nurse is also wonderful. She goes above and beyond to give her patients the best care. She spends her entire shifts working at her babies’ bedsides and helping other nurses where there is a need. She still spends so much time comforting parents and families. I’m sure it’s happened many times, but one time in particular that I can remember, is a family whose baby was quickly getting sick. The parents were scared and nervous. Although a busy day, Rika took the time to pray with them and comfort them. It was apparent that she helped them through this scary time. Her genuine “motherly” comfort is evident every day. She is an inspiration to me and to many others. She is a joy to work with and always carries a positive attitude. Her patients are lucky to have a nurse like her who is a great patient advocate-not afraid to keep speaking up when she feels like something is not right. Rika is a DAISY Nurse because this is who she is naturally as a person and how she brings that to work with her every day.

About DAISY

In late 1999, at the age of 33, Patrick Barnes awoke with some blood blisters in his mouth. Having survived Hodgkins Disease twice, he was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with the auto-immune disease, ITP (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura).

Said his father, Mark Barnes, "We are so blessed that we were able to spend the eight weeks of his hospitalization with him and his family. During those weeks, we experienced the best of Nursing. We were there to see the clinical skill that dealt with his very complex medical situation, the fast thinking of nurses who saved his life more than once, and that nursing excellence that took years to hone to the best of the profession. But frankly, as a patient family, we rather expected that Pat would have great clinical care. That was why he was in the hospital. What we did not expect was the way his nurses delivered that care - the kindness and compassion they gave Pat and all of us in his family every day. We were awed by the way the nurses touched him and spoke with him, even when he was on a ventilator and totally sedated. The way they informed and educated us eased our minds. They truly helped us through the darkest hours of our lives, with soft voices of hope and strong loving hugs that to this day, we still feel."

Just days after he died, the family began talking about what they would do to help fill the giant hole in their hearts that Pat’s passing had left. His wife came up with the acronym, DAISY, standing for diseases attacking the immune system. As they discussed what to do in Patrick’s memory, first and foremost, they wanted to say Thank You for the gifts nurses give their patients and families every day. That is when the family created The DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses.