MEMPHIS, Tenn., Aug. 5, 2009 – Katrena Stafford, a nurse working in the pulmonary department at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis, recently earned the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, given in appreciation of the work nurses do.

Stafford was nominated by Dena Thompson, a fellow nurse in the pulmonary department. Thompson nominated Stafford because of her willing and helpful attitude.

“Katrena always comes to the aid of her co-workers, and no one ever has to ask,” Thompson wrote in her nomination form. “She has the healing touch.”

Each month, Baptist Memphis’ nursing administrators accept nominations and select a nurse to receive the DAISY Award. At a presentation in front of the nurse’s colleagues, physicians, patients and visitors, the honoree receives a certificate and a sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa.

“Katrena is a remarkable nurse who is always willing to help out her fellow nurses if they need her assistance,” said Dana Dye, chief nursing officer at Baptist Memphis. “She handles herself professionally and strives to complete her tasks correctly and efficiently.”

The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, Calif., and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Barnes died at 33 in late 1999 from complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, an auto-immune disease. The care Barnes and his family received from nurses while he was ill led to the creation of the DAISY Award. All the nurses in Stafford’s unit received Cinnabon cinnamon rolls because while Barnes was in the hospital, he once asked his family to bring enough cinnamon rolls for him and all the nurses in his unit.

The Baptist Memphis campus includes the 706-bed hospital that is the flagship of the Baptist Memorial Health Care system. It serves as a major referral center for patients from across the Mid-South and offers many diagnostic, surgical and rehabilitation services. The hospital has added hundreds of beds in the past few years, with the opening of a new patient tower and the Baptist Heart Institute. Consumers have rated Baptist Memphis their most preferred hospital for overall health care services in an independent National Research Corp. poll for the past 13 years in a row, and according to HealthGrades®, Baptist Memphis’ cardiac surgery, stroke care and gastrointestinal surgery programs were among the top 5 percent in the nation in 2008, resulting in the facility receiving the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™.

For more information on Baptist Memphis, please call 901-226-5000 or visit memphis.baptistonline.org.

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