David McWhirter, a registered nurse at Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett, has been honored with the DAISY Award for Extra-ordinary Nurses.
This national award recognizes nurses for the excellent care they provide to patients. (The award’s name is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.)
McWhirter joined Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett in March 2015. He has been a registered nurse for 38 years. McWhirter was selected as a DAISY Award recipient based on nominations from his peers and letters from patients and their families.
“It’s a blessing to be able to take care of people that need help,” McWhirter said. “In my opinion, the DAISY Award is the highest award a nurse can receive. It’s the pinnacle of my career in healthcare.”
McWhirter was presented with a certificate and a Healer’s Touch sculpture, hand carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa. The sculpture represents the respect the Shona people give their traditional healers.
The DAISY Award program began in 2001, led by the DAISY Foundation in Glen Ellen, Calif.
About the DAISY Foundation
The DAISY Foundation was started by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at age 33 of complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, a bleeding condition in which the blood doesn’t clot properly. Deeply touched by the compassionate care Patrick received from his nurses, the Barnes family created the national DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses to recognize the incredible work that nurses do every day.
