Labor & Delivery Nurse Saranae Thimm, RNC, Awarded Aspirus St. Luke's First DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses

St. Luke’s Labor & Delivery Nurse Saranae Thimm, RNC, is the first person ever at St. Luke’s to have received a DAISY Award for extraordinary nurses.

Thimm earned the award after being nominated by one of her patients who suffered a miscarriage. The patient wrote that Thimm took the time to discuss every single detail with them. The patient shared that she had hoped and prayed for a nurse to treat them with kindness and compassion and Saranae was the answers to her prayers.

“Saranae gives the time and attention to her patients that they deserve,” Maternal Child Health Manager Stephanie Forslund said. “She has so much confidence with her nursing skills that her patients feel confident they are getting the best possible care.”

The DAISY Award is an international recognition program for nurses. The DAISY Foundation was formed in 1999 by the family of Patrick Barnes. He was hospitalized with Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura. After his death at 33, the family was touched by the nursing care Patrick received. They wanted to do something to recognize outstanding nursing care and created the DAISY Foundation. DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.

Nurses can be nominated for the monthly DAISY Award by patients, families, doctors or their peers. A DAISY committee comprised of nurses select winners. Winners are recognized on the International DAISY website. They receive recognition from organizational leadership, a certificate, a pin, the Healing Touch Sculpture (handcrafted by a tribe in Zimbabwe, the sculptor’s initials are on each sculpture) and cinnamon rolls, as these were Patrick’s favorite.