Surgical Nurse Named First DAISY Honoree at SPCH

Cecilia Caryl, RN, surgical services at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital, was honored at a celebration on Thursday, May 9, as the hospital’s first-annual DAISY Award honoree. 

In the nomination form, her anonymous colleague gave several examples of Caryl’s interactions that demonstrate her compassionate impact on patients. One story involved hearing Cecilia talking with her patient, an elderly man who had lost his wife of 60+ years a few months ago.

“He was telling her that he felt that he was not yet over the grief of losing his best friend and companion,” her colleague wrote. “I watched Cecilia hold his hand and tell him, ‘You know what I read the other day about grief? The article was saying that it takes one month of grieving for every year you were married.’ He looked at her with tears in his eyes, and Cecilia said, ‘I give you permission to grieve’. The patient hugged her as she was discharging him home.”

Caryl has worked in the surgery department at SPCH since 2007, and currently cares for surgical patients in recovery as a post-anesthesia care unit nurse.   

The nomination continued with an example of how Caryl noticed something happening to her patient during recovery that sent her into quick action. 

“Cecilia looked beyond what the expectations were and really saw what was happening to this patient — a rare event that happens to patients in 1 per 100,000 surgeries,” her colleague wrote. “Most nurses have practiced for years and never seen this in the operating room, but Cecilia used her critical thinking skills and escalated care that saved this patient’s life.” 

Caryl received a DAISY pin, award certificate and 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 a national DAISY Award for extraordinary nurses.

Other nominees for the award included William Pearson, Surgery; Tara Cox, Acute Care Unit; Ruth Mooreland, Samaritan Depoe Bay Clinic; Leah Sweet, Surgery; Christine Clark, Hospice; and Kendal Elliott, Acute Care Unit. Their nomination stories were also read aloud at the event.

The DAISY Award is an international award program that was established by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, who deeply appreciated the care and compassion shown by his nurses before his death. 

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