TidalHealth Nanticoke is pleased to announce that Alexandra “Alex” Tushup, RN, of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has been selected as its Daisy Award recipient for May 2024.
Tushup was nominated for the exceptional care and compassion she showed a recent ICU patient and his family:
“Tushup showed remarkable compassion and dedication to a patient who transferred from the ICU to the Clinical Decision Unit (CDU). She and the patient had developed a special bond while she cared for him in the ICU.
After the patient was transferred, two family meetings took place to discuss the patient’s plan of care. Tushup came down from the ICU to be with the patient and the family for the first meeting, which meant so much that the patient cried when he saw her. You could tell by their interactions that she had become special to the patient in such a short time.
The second meeting discussed palliative care with the patient, his family and the palliative care nurse practitioner. Although she was not working, Tushup happened to be in the hospital that day for an educational meeting and stopped by to check on the patient. The patient asked if she would attend the meeting planned for that afternoon.
Tushup stayed on her day off to be with the patient during a difficult time for him. The patient was having a hard time deciding what he wanted to do in terms of his diagnosis/prognosis. Tushup sat with him, held his hand and showed so much compassion to him. I truly believe that without her help, the patient would not have been able to make a confident decision about his care.”
Tushup was 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, Calif., and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Barnes died at age 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little-known but not uncommon autoimmune disease.
The care Barnes 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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