Newport ICU Nurse Is DAISY Award Winner May 21, 2021 Exceptional nurses make a lasting impact on patients and their families by providing compassionate, professional and tender care to the sick and the dying. One family had this experience with Claudia Richards, RN, and nominated her for the annual DAISY Award at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital. At a virtual ceremony held earlier this month, Richards was announced as the hospital’s DAISY Award recipient for 2021, 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 Patty Dickson, who works in the Emergency Department; and Acute Care nurses Tara Cox, Ruth Moreland and James King, who was nominated by two different families. In the nomination for Richards, the patient’s loved one, Bud Long of Lincoln City, wrote: “My girlfriend came into the ER as she had been battling cancer for the last seven years. From the moment Claudia Richards arrived in the room, she began caring for her. She spent a great amount of time in the room, so I thought we had been assigned our very own nurse. Claudia showed compassion and care with everything she did. “We did not know the (visitor restriction) rules, so Claudia respectfully pointed them out, in a way that was not upsetting or made me feel stupid. “Her big brother, and rock, arrived from Florida and Claudia made special arrangements for him to be able to see her, talk with her and spend some wonderful time with her. Shortly after this she closed her eyes and passed away. Her anxiety and fears were no longer there. “Looking back, I believe Claudia knew that this was going to be the end of her journey. For that, I think Claudia went above and beyond her duties as a nurse, treating us like family and not just another patient.” Richards began her Samaritan career in December 2010 as an RN in the ICU, where she has worked ever since, while picking up an occasional house supervisor shift. As this year’s DAISY Award winner, Richards 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 also receive financial discounts for nursing certification training; reduced tuition for continued education; conference scholarship opportunities; and are eligible for the national DAISY Award. 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.” Nominate an exceptional Samaritan nurse today!
