MEMPHIS, Tenn., Oct. 14, 2009 – Debbie Reak, a nurse working in the myleosuppression unit at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis, recently earned the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, given in appreciation of the work nurses do.

Reak was nominated by the mother of one of her patients after she showed a helpful and comforting attitude towards the patient.

“Debbie treated us as if we were her family,” the patient’s mother wrote in her nomination form. “Her knowledge of her job is extraordinary, and she did everything she could to make sure my daughter was comfortable.”

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.

“Debbie is an exceptional and gifted nurse who knows how to comfort both the patient and the family during their time of need,” said Dana Dye, chief nursing officer for Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis. “She is truly one of a kind.”

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 Reak’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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