MVHS Announces Winners of DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses

The Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) announced three winners of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, an award which recognizes nurses for the amazing efforts they perform every day. The winners of the awards, Selvedin Muminovic, RN; Karrie Daniels, RN; and Sharon Lavine, RN, each received a hand-carved statue, a certificate and scholarship opportunities for continued learning.

Each winner is selected from a pool of nominations submitted by patients and/or their family members, then evaluated by a group of peers from across the health system.

“We are so proud of every single one of our nurses,” said Nancy Traxel, Education Services manager at MVHS. “Each winner is so deserving of this honor for the extraordinary care, compassion and clinical excellence they demonstrate every day.”

Selvedin Muminovic, RN, now a four-time winner of the DAISY Award, is a nurse on 3A at the St. Elizabeth Campus. He was nominated for his cheerful courtesy.

“Selvedin is more than happy to help a patient,” the nomination read. “He never complained about any of my requests. He did his job in a courteous and thoughtful way and he was very attentive to my needs.”

Karrie Daniels, RN, works on the Pediatric Unit of the St. Luke’s Campus. She was nominated for her kindness and diligence.

“Her kind personality and her way of making you feel better is impressive,” said the nominator. “She understood what it was to be a patient and showed nothing but compassion and caring. She also explained everything that was going on and what was next. She was super at keeping me informed the best she could. Thank you Karrie for making my stay so much better!”

Sharon Lavine, RN, who recently moved to the Psychiatric Unit from Med-Surg at St. Luke’s, was nominated for the comfort and reassurance she provided.

“I was in the hospital for a severe case of pneumonia with other health complications of systemic sarcoidosis, I was extremely sick and suffering,” the nomination read. “Throughout my stay, Sharon was extremely compassionate, kind, respectful, helpful and treated me with dignity. I was very sick and needed a lot of care and assistance – I was not always an easy patient. Words cannot explain the gratitude I have for Sharon or the lengths she went to for me.”

The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, California, and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura, a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. 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.

“When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide patients every day and night.” said Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, co-founder of The DAISY Foundation. “Yet these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for the super-human work they do. The kind of work the nurses at MVHS are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of the DAISY Award.”