Sparrow Ionia ER Nurse Jill Hicks recipient of DAISY Award

Published: July 19, 2018

IONIA, MI – Sparrow Ionia Hospital has honored Emergency Department Nurse Jill Hicks, BSN, RN, with a DAISY Award for extraordinary Nurses in recognition of her Patient-centered approach to care.

The DAISY Award is an international program that rewards and celebrates the compassionate and skillful care given by Nurses every day.

Hicks, who was presented the award in a recent ceremony, was nominated by the family of 86-year-old Patient Miriam Barnard, who was admitted to the Emergency Department in extreme pain from a fractured humerus in her arm.

“Jill was right there and understood the pain mom was in,” the nomination said. “She was kind and caring to mom and all of us as a family. She was confident in her abilities and went above and beyond to accommodate my mom and her pain.

“We are all extremely grateful to Jill. Mom called her ‘my angel.’”

Hicks is currently enrolled in an MSN-NP program to achieve her master’s degree. She and husband Nick have one son, Zach.

DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The DAISY Award is a national program created in memory of J. Patrick Barnes who died in 1999 of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura, or ITP, at age 33. His family was overwhelmed by the skillful and compassionate Nurses who cared for him, and the DAISY Foundation and Award were created as an expression of their gratitude.

Hicks received a certificate, a DAISY pin, a beautiful stone sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe. The sculpture depicts the embracing relationship Nurses have with their Patients.

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