DUBAI - May 15, 2017: Nurses at Emirates Hospitals Group, a leading healthcare provider in the UAE, were honoured with the prestigious DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s program to recognize the super-human efforts that nurses take up every day. The awards were a part of the Nurses Day celebrations by the Emirates Hospitals Group in Dubai amidst 400 nurses and other members of the organization.  

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization based in Glen Ellen, CA, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes by his family members. Patrick died at the age of 33 in 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired to set up the DAISY Award, as a unique means of thanking the community of nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of patients and their families.

Emirates Hospitals Group, currently employs over 500 nurses and aims to hire another 200 before the end of this year. Nomination process of the award followed by the Group involved patients, families and colleagues, with a strong assessment done by a committee of nurses at the Emirates Hospitals Group. The organization has also commenced working on the Magnet accreditation for nurses, which is the gold standard in the nursing profession. Emirates Hospitals Group is currently implementing a range of efforts to recognize and encourage nurses in building and helping their careers.  

Ms. Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, President and Co-Founder of the DAISY Foundation, said, 'When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced remarkable care and services provided by the nurses, who worked selflessly day and night. We believe that these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for the super-human work they do. Owing to this, we decided to launch the Daisy Award that honours the hard work of the nurses.” 

Mr. Pramod Balakrishnan, CEO of Emirates Hospitals Group, said, “This is an amazing effort carried out by the DAISY Foundation to recognize the people, who work the most and aren’t always appreciated. It gives us great pleasure in awarding the well-deserved nurses, who work so hard to create a bond with patients and their families, and provide them with the much-needed care throughout. I would like to congratulate all the award winners and thank all the nurses employed by us for their services.”

Ms. Nisrine Abou Fadel, Chief Nursing Officer at Emirates Hospital, said, “We are proud to be among the leading healthcare organizations participating in the DAISY Award program. Nurses perform noble service every day. It is important that our nurses know their work is highly valued, and the DAISY Foundation provides a way for us to do that.” 

Each winner received a certificate commending the individual for their excellence and extraordinary service. They were also given a sculpture called ‘A Healer’s Touch’, which is hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa.