Deniel Elder receives St. Mary’s DAISY Award for nursing excellence

Athens, Ga. – Deniel Elder, a weekend clinical team leader at St. Mary’s Hospital Emergency Department, has received St. Mary’s most recent systemwide DAISY Award for Nursing Excellence.

Elder was nominated by a patient who was brought to St. Mary’s by Emergency Medical Services with alarming symptoms. “My pacemaker was causing me to physically jump from my abdomen up. I felt like a nine-pound baby was kicking my liver every time my heart beat,” she wrote.

Working with the Emergency Department physician and in consultation with a representative of the pacemaker’s manufacturer, Elder took the lead on easing the patient’s discomfort. Nothing seemed to help. Drawing on experience from her long nursing career, Elder began to wonder if the lead (a thin wire) from the pacemaker to the patient’s heart was no longer in the right position. She elevated the possibility to the ED physician who studied x-rays to confirm her theory: the pacemaker lead was out of place. With this diagnosis, the patient was able to quickly receive corrective treatment.

“Due to Deniel’s tenacity to solve this problem, it happened,” the patient concludes. “Her experience and knowledge helped this very scared patient.”

“Deniel’s commitment to this patient on a busy holiday weekend is an example of the quality care she provides every time she comes to work,” said John Reeck, Emergency Department director. “This case is also a powerful demonstration of teamwork and how our nurses function as the eyes, ears and hands of our physicians to provide care to our patients.”

Elder, who lives in Pendergrass, has been part of the St. Mary’s team since 2006.

About the DAISY Award

The DAISY Award is an international recognition program that celebrates the skillful and compassionate care nurses provide day-in and day-out. It was created in gratitude for the nurses who provided care to Patrick Barnes, a 33-year-old husband and father who lost his fight against a deadly autoimmune disease in 1999. His family created the DAISY Foundation, which now partners with more than 5,000 hospitals

and schools in all 50 states and around the world to honor and inspire extraordinary nurses. Learn more about the DAISY Award at https://www.daisyfoundation.org/.

At St. Mary's, each DAISY Award recipient is recognized at a public ceremony with their colleagues. They receive a certificate, a DAISY Award pin, and a stone sculpture entitled "A Healer's Touch" that is hand-carved by sculptors in Zimbabwe. In addition, they and their colleagues are invited to celebrate the occasion with cinnamon rolls, a treat Patrick would request – even though he couldn’t eat them – as a thank-you to the nurses caring for him.

Anyone can nominate a St. Mary's nurse for the DAISY Award, including patients, patients' family members, providers, and colleagues. Any nurse in the St. Mary's system is eligible, including those at all three hospitals as well as home health care/hospice services and medical group offices. The nomination simply asks you to share your story of why a nurse is special to you. St. Mary's honors eight nurses each year.

There are two ways you can nominate a St. Mary's nurse for the DAISY Award: · Visit St. Mary's DAISY Award webpage at https://www.stmaryshealthcaresystem.org/for-patients/after-your-stay/daisy-award

· Contact Melissa McDaniel, Marketing Administrative Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator, at 706.389.3892.