Southeast Georgia Health System recently presented The DAISY Award® For Extraordinary Nurses to Kerry
Beth “KB” Griffin, RN, in recognition of the kindness and
compassion she provides to her patients.
A registered nurse at the
Miriam & Hugh Nunnally Maternity Care Center on the Health System’s
Brunswick Campus, Griffin was nominated for The DAISY Award by one of her patients.
Excerpts from Griffin’s nomination include, “KB was assigned
to my wife and I during the tragic loss of our first born daughter. Though
all of the staff did a good job, KB not only acted as a nurse, but also
as a friend of a family whom she had never met. KB cried with us, talked
to us, and was there for us in ways that we did not expect her to be.
Fast forward a year later and KB came in on a day that she was not scheduled
to work in order to be there to welcome our second daughter into the world.
KB came early in the morning and when I asked when her shift was over,
she replied “When that baby comes.” KB made the worst day
of our lives bearable and the best day of our lives even better. The amount
of compassion she showed to us, and I am sure to everyone she provides
care for, is beyond comparison. Coming from a family with life-long nurses,
KB takes the standard for care and goes well beyond it.”
During the presentation, Griffin received “A Healer’s Touch”
sculpture, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa, cinnamon
rolls, balloons and a beautiful bouquet of daisies.
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).