LWMC Honors McCoy with DAISY Award

Lake Wales Medical Center has awarded James McCoy, RN, with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses ®. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate care nurses provide patients and families every day.

McCoy, a Registered Nurse on the Progressive Care Unit, is described by his patients as compassionate and caring.

“Jim was awesome,” a patient wrote. “I was sweating a lot, and he had to change my sheets twice during the night. He never made me feel like I was bothering him.”

Another patient said, “I was feeling nervous about a procedure I was going to have, and Jim pulled up a chair and took the time to explain everything. He helped me get over my fear.”

Another patient spoke of his upbeat attitude. “He always has a smile on his face, and makes me feel like it is not a problem to get me what I ask for.”

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem.) The care Patrick 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.

Nurses may be nominated by patients, families and colleagues, and the winner is chosen by a committee at the hospital. The DAISY awards are presented throughout the year at celebrations attended by the honoree’s colleagues, patients and visitors. Each honoree receives a certificate commending him or her as an “Extraordinary Nurse.” Honorees also receive a DAISY Award pin and a sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists in the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.