Compassionate care runs deep in the Edgerton family as Karen and Steve Edgerton, along with their future daughter-in-law, Kathleen Tredtin, were honored recently for going above and beyond in caring for a woman who became ill while shopping. The Edgertons and Tredtin were honored at a ceremony at Rutland Regional Medical Center and given The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, a peer-elected awards program of the DAISY Foundation. The award recognizes the super-human efforts nurses perform every day.
The trio of nurses was nominated by fellow nurse, Samantha Helinski and a recently discharged patient who was grocery shopping with her husband when she became too weak to walk. The patient wrote, “The nicest woman came to help me, she is a nurse at the hospital, her husband and future daughter-in-law were there, too.” The patient related how Karen, Steve and Kathleen completed the couple’s shopping, helped put away the groceries, and stayed with the couple to ensure they had no additional needs. Tredtin also made an appointment for the patient at the Rutland Heart Center for the next day. The patient’s letter continued, “They were absolutely, wonderfully kind people…you hear about bad things that happen, but not always the great things like this. These were wonderful people who helped us. I don’t know what I would have done without them.”
Steve Edgerton, is an RN in the operating room, Karen Edgerton, RN works in Utilization Review and Kathleen Tredtin is an RN at the Rutland Heart Center.
“All nurses are extraordinary,” said Carol Egan, Carol Egan, MSN, MSA, RN, NE-BC, Chief Nursing Officer & VP Hospital Service Delivery, “But this is remarkable and I am so proud of these three wonderful nurses.”
The DAISY Award ceremony, held before colleagues, honored the Edgertons and Tredtin with the "Extraordinary Nurse" certificate, which reads: "In deep appreciation of all you do, who you are, and the incredibly meaningful difference you make in the lives of so many people." Additionally, they received a DAISY Award pin; a beautiful, hand-carved serpentine stone sculpture from Zimbabwe, entitled "A Healer's Touch"; a large celebratory banner that will hang in their units; and a spotlight page on the DAISY Foundation’s website.
About the DAISY Award
The DAISY (an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Foundation was started in Glen Allen, CA by family members of J. Patrick Barnes, who died from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little-known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. As a way of thanking Barnes’s nurses, his family established the award program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses everywhere perform every day.
The DAISY Award is one initiative of the not-for-profit DAISY Foundation whose overall goal is to help fight diseases of the immune system. Additionally, DAISY offers J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects and provides assistance to ITP support groups. More information is available on their website www.DAISYfoundation.org, or contact Bonnie Barnes, President/Co-Founder of The DAISY Foundation, at (707) 996-7936 or at [email protected].
Rutland Regional Medical Center is the second largest healthcare facility in Vermont with a national reputation for outstanding patient care, nursing excellence and innovation. US News & World Report has recognized Rutland Regional as High Performing in three specialty areas including: Care for Heart Failure, COPD, and Hip Replacement. Healthgrades® named Rutland Regional among the top 10% in the Nation for Outstanding Patient Experience and Patient Safety, along with “high performing” designations for its clinical performance in Pacemaker Procedures, Prostate Surgery and Total Knee Replacement. As one of the safest hospitals in the nation, Rutland Regional was honored with an ‘A’ grade by The Leapfrog Group in the Spring 2016 Hospital Safety Score. Recently designated for a second time, Rutland Regional is a Magnet® hospital, providing the highest level of recognition for quality nursing care and received the Center of Blue Distinction designation for Maternity Care from Blue Cross and Blue Shield.