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DAISY Award

The DAISY Award was established by the DAISY Foundation in memory of J. Patrick Barnes who died at 33 of an auto-immune disease. His family was awestruck by the clinical skills, caring and compassion of the nurses who cared for him. They created this national award to honor his memory and thank nurses everywhere. The DAISY Award is presented monthly to one Salem VA HCS nurse who is nominated by a Veteran, family member, employee or volunteer witnessing extraordinary inpatient or outpatient care. Nomination forms can be found throughout Salem's main campus or use the form below.

Daisy Award

Salem VA Healthcare System is proud to be a DAISY award partner, recognizing our selected nurses with this special honor each month.

What is The DAISY Award?

The DAISY Foundation was established in 1999 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes. Patrick died at the age of 33, from complications of the auto-immune disease Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). During his eight-week hospital stay, his family was impressed by the care and compassion his nurses provided, not only to him but to everyone in the family. They created the DAISY Award in Pat’s memory to recognize those nurses who make a big difference in the lives of so many people.

Our DAISY Award honorees demonstrate the VA’s I CARE principles. They also demonstrate excellence through their clinical expertise and compassionate care. They are recognized as role models in our nursing community.

The Salem VA Healthcare System is proud to be a DAISY Award partner, and will recognize one of our nurses with this special honor each month. Each DAISY Award Honoree will be recognized at a public ceremony in her/his unit each month, and will receive:

  • a beautiful certificate
  • a DAISY Award pin
  • a hand-carved stone sculpture entitled A Healer’s Touch
Daisy Award Logo

  • Nominate a nurse

  • A link to the DAISY dot org page

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