Watkinsville woman wins St. Mary’s Daisy Award

Gretchen Pearson, a registered nurse who provides care as part of St. Mary’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) team, has received St. Mary’s systemwide DAISY Award for Nursing Excellence.

Pearson is a resident of Watkinsville who joined St. Mary’s in October 2020. She was nominated by a family member of a patient who needed mechanical thrombectomy to remove a blood clot from his lungs. Mechanical thrombectomy is a minimally invasive procedure in which a flexible tube is threaded through the inside of blood vessels to remove large blood clots without the need for major surgery.

“I needed answers, support and direction. She was able to extensively provide all three,” the family member writes. In particular, Pearson – who also has experience in St. Mary’s Interventional Radiology program – shared her deep knowledge of mechanical thrombectomy to help the family understand what was happening. “Gretchen is a firecracker and pulled everything together to get my [loved one] the help he needed when he needed it. God bless. Thank you, Gretchen!”

“Gretchen is a tremendous asset to our team and a relentless advocate for her patients. We are extremely proud of her and all of our DAISY Award recipients,” said Ann Gomes, St. Mary’s DAISY Award Committee coordinator and director of orthopedics at St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens. “This award demonstrates the vital role nurses play not only as care providers at the bedside, but with families and colleagues as well. Congratulations, Gretchen!”

About the DAISY Award

The DAISY Award is an international recognition program that celebrates the skillful and compassionate care nurses provide day-in and day-out. It was created in gratitude for the nurses who provided care to Patrick Barnes, a 33-year-old husband and father who lost his fight against a deadly autoimmune disease in 1999. His family created the DAISY Foundation, which now partners with more than 5,000 hospitals and schools in all 50 states and around the world to honor and inspire extraordinary nurses. Learn more about the DAISY Award at https://www.daisyfoundation.org/.

At St. Mary’s, each DAISY Award recipient is recognized at a public ceremony with their colleagues. They receive a certificate, a DAISY Award pin, and a stone sculpture entitled “A Healer’s Touch” that is hand-carved by sculptors in Zimbabwe. In addition, they and their colleagues are invited to celebrate the occasion with cinnamon rolls, a treat Patrick would request – even though he couldn’t eat them – as a thank-you to the nurses caring for him.

Anyone can nominate a St. Mary’s nurse for the DAISY Award, including patients, patients’ family members, providers, and colleagues. Any nurse in the St. Mary’s system is eligible, including those at all three hospitals as well as home health care/hospice services and medical group offices. The nomination simply asks you to share your story of why a nurse is special to you. St. Mary’s honors eight nurses each year.

There are two ways you can nominate a St. Mary’s nurse for the DAISY Award:

· Visit St. Mary’s DAISY Award webpage at https://www.stmaryshealthcaresystem.org/for-patients/after-your-stay/daisy-award

· Contact Melissa McDaniel, Marketing Administrative Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator, at 706.389.3892.

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