PHILADELPHIA (November 4, 2022)—Lauren Cappelletti, BSN, RN, CCM, a transitional care nurse navigator at Fox Chase Cancer Center, was recently honored with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses as well as a visit from DAISY founders and previous award recipients.
The DAISY Award honors nurses who demonstrate exceptional care for their patients. Recipients can be nominated by members of their organization, including patients, families, and coworkers.
“I feel very overwhelmed and grateful. It’s not just me that makes it happen, it’s a whole team. I’m blessed to work with five other women who are also transitional care nurse navigators. We all do great work every day,” said Cappelletti.
She was nominated for the award by her coworker, Stacey Joseph, BSN, RN, who shared her reason for nominating Cappelletti during the DAISY Foundation visit.
“On a busy weekend, Lauren had a patient who was homeless and living in a shelter in Brooklyn, New York. Lauren set up a Lyft ride for this patient to return to Brooklyn. The patient had Pennsylvania Medicaid and did not have insurance in New York,” said Joseph.
“The patient brought her 5-year old child with her and Lauren had to coordinate a very specific time for her child to be brought to Fox Chase so they could return to Brooklyn together,” Joseph added. “Lauren goes above and beyond due to the kindness of her heart. She’s the kind of nurse we should all aspire to be.”
Cappelletti was presented with a certificate and a Zimbabwean Shona stone sculpture that the DAISY Foundation calls “The Healer’s Touch.” The sculpture is meant to symbolize the relationship between a nurse and their patient.
“One of the things we thought was so special about these sculptures is that the Shona people feel about their traditional healers like we feel about you as nurses,” said Bonnie Barnes, co-founder of the DAISY Foundation, who was accompanied by her husband and co-founder, Mark Barnes. “They hold them in a place of such high esteem and they are seen as such treasures, so what could be more appropriate?”
DAISY is an acronym that stands for Disease Attacking the Immune System. It was created in 1999 in honor of Patrick Barnes, the son of Mark and stepson of Bonnie, who died at the age of 33 from idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, an autoimmune disease in which the number of blood platelets decreases dramatically. The Barnes were touched by the nursing care Patrick received while in the hospital and decided to create a foundation to highlight the extraordinary work nurses do.
Cappelletti joined a list of over 40 other Fox Chase nurses who have received The DAISY Award. There are currently over 5,500 healthcare facilities and schools of nursing in all 50 states and 33 other countries and territories committed to honoring nurses with The DAISY Award.