Memorial Announces Joni Copper, RN November DAISY winner

Congratulations to Joni Copper, RN and House Supervisor at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital! She was nominated by a fellow co-worker for her kindness, compassion and mentorship.

From the nominator:

Joni is more than just a house supervisor. She is my mentor, shoulder to cry on, counselor, and a great person to debrief with after a trauma. One night, I had a little girl who needed to be sedated for an ortho reduction. Joni had come to the ED just making her rounds but noticed the MD was causing my anxiety to escalate, so she asked me if I wanted her to stick around for a bit. All of the stress and anxiety washed away, and I found peace. And that’s always how I feel with Joni around. And she did stick around for me, even though she had an ENTIRE HOSPITAL TO RUN! She pushed the medications for sedation while I documented and then after to make sure there wasn’t anything else I needed. Also, later that evening, she came back to the ER, and we debriefed and talked about the situation, the pros and cons, and things to improve on moving forward. She is a phenomenal leader, nurse, and friend. I am truly blessed to have her guide us during the night, and I want her to know that all of her hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. Thank you, Joni, for all you do hospital-wide but also for little ole me :)

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.