Baptist Union County recognizes nurse who performs above and beyond expectations

Deya Kent, RN, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County, recently received the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, an award given in appreciation of the work nurses do. Kent, a nurse in the surgery department with fourteen years of service, was nominated by a patient.

Nurses like Kent are nominated by patients, families, and colleagues for the DAISY Award, and from those nominations, nursing leadership at Baptist Union County selects nurses to receive the award.

At a presentation in front of nurses, colleagues, and family, Kent received a certificate and a sculpture. The sculpture, titled “A Healer’s Touch,” is hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa.

In the nomination, the patient stated, “With an overflow of God’s blessing and grace, I sincerely nominate Deya Kent. She was with me quite a period of one-on-one care and delivered empathy in a way not recognized in today’s world.”

“It is truly an honor to recognize Deya for her compassion and excellent nursing skills,” said Heather Reid, Chief Nursing Officer, at Baptist Union County. “Deya’s dedication to the needs of her patients exemplifies what a true DAISY award winner should be.”

The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation, based in Glen Ellen, Calif., was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Barnes died at age 33 in late 1999 from complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, an auto-immune disease.

The extraordinary care Barnes and his family received from nurses while he was ill led to the creation of the DAISY Award.

Baptist Union County offers a variety of services, including adult and pediatric inpatient care, maternity, surgery, a 24-hour emergency department, sleep lab, pulmonology, and diagnostics. The hospital also has PET/CT, 3D mammography, TeleHealth services, and an eICU. Baptist Union County has an excellent reputation for providing quality care and recently earned an “A” Safety Grade from the Leapfrog Group, as well as the Outstanding Patient Safety Excellence and Outstanding Patient Experience awards from Healthgrades.

For more information about Baptist Union County, please call 662-538-7631 or visit unioncounty.baptistonline.org.