The Daisy Award is a national award to recognize the extraordinary work of nurses.
Allison Fawley, RN, from the special care unit at Grant Memorial Hospital, became the second recipient of this esteemed accolade at the hospital.
Fawley was surprised with an award ceremony on Feb. 26 surrounded by her coworkers and family members. She was selected for her exceptional advocacy for patient care and her consistent efforts to exceed patient expectations. She embodies compassion, skill, care, and knowledge — the hallmark qualities of a DAISY award recipient.
Elaine Geroski, assistant vice president of patient services, stated that “Allison is a true asset to Grant Memorial Hospital and consistently approaches every aspect of her job with a smile. We are so fortunate to have her.”
Her nurse manager, Cheyenne Dayton, added, “Allison is the definition of compassion and dedication. She is not only dedicated to providing safe and quality care to her patients, but she is dedicated to her team members who she works alongside each shift.”
Fawley has been a part of GMH since 2019, initially as a tech. She became certified as a registered nurse after earning her bachelor of science in nursing from Potomac State College in 2022. She also holds a certification in Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support.
Fawley expressed, “I am truly honored that my hard work and commitment to my patients are being recognized. Many of my colleagues here at GMH have helped shape the nurse I am today, and I am incredibly grateful to them.” Allison lives in Petersburg with her husband, Jacob Fawley, and is the daughter of Jimmie and Vickie Bennett of Riverton.
The Daisy Award was started by the Barnes family after their son and husband, Patrick Barnes, died from an autoimmune disease.
After Barnes’ death, his family knew they wanted to honor him. The family kept coming back to the impact that nurses had made on them during his hospital stay and they decided to say “thank you” for the gifts that nurses give their patients and families every day, just as they had experienced.
Barnes’ wife developed the acronym, DAISY, which stands for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The paperwork was filed for a not-for-profit organization and the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses began at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, where Barnes had been a patient. It was the first program of its kind to give patients, families, and co-workers a way to express their gratitude to nurses for what they became nurses to do – provide compassionate care to patients and their families. Since then, the DAISY Award has been adopted by thousands of healthcare organizations to recognize extraordinary nurses.
WVU Medicine/Grant Memorial Hospital is one of the most recent healthcare facilities to honor one of their nurses with the DAISY Award.
