Southeast Georgia Health System recently presented
The DAISY Award® For Extraordinary Nurses to Shelly Erdmier, R.N., in recognition of the kindness and compassion
she provides every day to her patients.
A registered nurse in the
Health System’s Brunswick Campus Cancer Care Center, Erdmier was nominated for The DAISY Award by one of her patients, Mark
Hanly, M.D.
Excerpts from Erdmier’s nomination include, “I am a physician
and previous Chief of Medical Staff at Southeast Georgia Health System.
In 2020, I was diagnosed with cancer. The diagnosis required me to undergo
chemotherapy and radiotherapy. There have been some very dark days for
me and my family since the diagnosis one year ago. I chose to get my therapy
at the Health System and I was fortunate enough to have Shelly Erdmier
as my nurse. Her compassion, efficiency, and wonderful sunny personality
amid her deep faith have been an inspiration to me and my family. Both
my wife and I relied on her for support when I was at my lowest. I have
no idea how she keeps it up. We have excellent nurses at Southeast Georgia
Health System, but some are unbelievably good, like Shelly. Always joyful,
caring and fully engaged with each patient she looks after, she has been
an outstanding caregiver. She is knowledgeable, technically skilled and
meticulous in providing care. Shelly is the best of the best.”
During the presentation, Erdmier also received “A Healer’s
Touch” sculpture, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa,
and Grandy’s Sinnamon® Rolls, donated by owners, and siblings,
Paul and Mary Kay Spence.
Created by The DAISY Foundation™—an acronym for Diseases Attacking
the Immune System—The DAISY Award was established by family members
in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Barnes died at the age of 33 in late 1999
from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little
known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. The care Barnes 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 the patients’ family and friends. Today, more than 5,000 health
care facilities and nursing schools worldwide honor nurses with The DAISY award.
Nurses can be nominated for The DAISY Award online at sghs.org/daisy-award,
or nominations may be placed in DAISY boxes located throughout the Health
System’s Brunswick and Camden campuses. A committee consisting of
Health System team members, including clinical and non-clinical staff,
leadership, medical staff and board members, review the nominations and
determine The DAISY Award recipient(s).