ICU Nurse Is DAISY Award Winner at Newport Hospital June 9, 2022 Winners of the DAISY Award for exceptional nurses at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital are selected through a process of anonymity. Even so, this year’s winner, Adam Fugate, RN, said he didn’t believe he could possibly be this year’s recipient. “The DAISY nurses selected the past two years work night shift on the ICU so I didn’t think they would select a third one,” Fugate said, referring to himself. But he was wrong with his assumption. At a virtual ceremony held earlier this month, Fugate was announced as the hospital’s DAISY Award recipient for 2022, selected from among dozens of nominees and the five top finalists. The selection committee considered the nominations with no names attached so that the selection would be based on the nurse’s remarkable work alone. The other exceptional SPCH nurses who were in top consideration for the DAISY Award were Jenni Redekopp, who works in Ambulatory Infusion; ICU nurses Darcy Adams and Yvonne Platt; and Acute Care nurse Teresa Knittle. Colleague Nominates Fugate For Top Honor Ironically, one of the other DAISY nominees – Darcy Adams – had nominated Fugate for the top honor. While Adams recognized the excellent care Fugate provided her son, it was her son’s own words that compelled her to nominate Fugate. In the nomination she wrote: “My 13-year-old son Kyler was admitted to the hospital with a septic joint, which came out of nowhere. I am a nurse but always a mom first. Kyler was admitted to the ICU and Adam was his nurse. I knew he was going to get the best care as Adam is very dedicated to his patients by doing more than what is expected. He is a nurse that can make a terrified 13-year-old feel safe in the ICU. He treated Kyler like an individual and allowed him to make some of the decisions. “Kyler was later transferred to a different hospital where he was for eight more days. Kyler said to me, ‘The smartest nurse was at the Newport hospital, Adam. He was the best, Mom!’ Just because he is only 13 doesn’t mean he didn’t know what was going on. Adam is the most dedicated nurse and it is an honor to nominate an excellent nurse for the DAISY Award.” Fugate Is Dedicated to SPCH Fugate began his Samaritan career in July of 2006, as a registered nurse in the Emergency Department. In 2013, he transferred to the ICU. Five years ago, he and his family moved back to western Idaho but Fugate continued to work at the Newport hospital. Thursdays are his eight-hour long travel days, then he works 12-hour night shifts until his return home. While in Newport, he spends his time in a camping trailer located inside a quiet, dark space at a co-worker’s property. At home, he resumes a daytime schedule to spend quality time with his wife and four children, the youngest who is 5 years old. As this year’s DAISY Award winner, Fugate received a DAISY pin, award certificate and a hand-carved stone sculpture entitled “A Healer’s Touch.” Along with the public recognition, DAISY award winners receive financial discounts for nursing certification training; reduced tuition for continued education; conference scholarship opportunities; and are eligible for the national DAISY Award. You Can Nominate An Exceptional Nurse The DAISY Award was established by the family of J. Patrick Barnes to “honor the super-human work nurses do for patients and families every day wherever they practice, in whatever role they serve and throughout their careers, from student through a lifetime of achievement.” To learn more, visit daisyfoundation.org. To nominate a Samaritan nurse, visit samhealth.org/DAISY.
