Cooper University Health Care has named Kristina Kelly, RN, of Riverside, NJ, as the most recent DAISY Award winner.
The DAISY Award, established by The DAISY Foundation, is an international program that rewards and celebrates the extraordinary clinical skill and compassionate care given by nurses every day. It is presented in collaboration with the American Organization of Nurse Executives. Each quarter, Cooper will honor a nurse with The DAISY Award.
Kelly, a nurse on Cooper’s Kelemen 7 Trauma Step-Down unit, was selected among 68 nominees. She was nominated by the family of Dillon Kelly (no relation) for the way she cared for him and was an advocate for their entire family following a traumatic car accident in January 2015.
According to the Kelly family, “Kristina was truly one-of-a-kind. Nothing could alleviate our fears until we met this special nurse. Her compassion and empathy was astounding. She was with us night and day, answered all our questions and eased our minds in the worst of situations.”
As Dillon recovered, Kelly educated the entire family about his home care prior to discharge.
“Kristina took an unbearable situation and made it bearable for our family,” said Siobhan Kelly, Dillon’s mother.
Dillon has since recovered from his injuries, and the entire family was in attendance to help present the award to Kelly.
Kelly has been a member of the Cooper staff since 2013. A graduate of Holy Family University, Philadelphia, Kelly has been a registered nurse for three years.
Each quarter’s winner receives a DAISY Award recipient pin, a Healer’s Touch hand-carved statue, an award certificate and a gift certificate for cinnamon rolls from Cinnabon. In addition, the selected nurse’s unit receives a banner to post for the quarter.
Anyone—patients, families and professional colleagues—may nominate a Cooper nurse for The DAISY Award. The DAISY nomination materials are located on nursing units and other public locations throughout the main Cooper campus and outpatient offices, as well as online through the Cooper website. Visit http://www.cooperhealth.org/should-your-nurse-receive-daisy-award to learn more.
Media contact:
Wendy A. Marano
marano-wendy@cooperhealth.edu
Office: 856.382.6463
Mobile: 856-904-1688