UP Health System – Marquette Nurse Brian Stasevich, RN, Honored with DAISY Award
September 14, 2023
UP Health System – Marquette is proud to honor Brian Stasevich, RN, with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses®. The award is given out every quarter and is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care provided to patients and families every day.
Brian cares for patients in the Neuro/Ortho/Pediatrics Unit at UP Health System – Marquette. Nurses in this unit care for a wide variety of patients, including individuals recovering from neurological surgery or strokes, patients recovering from orthopedic surgery or trauma, children, and more. Brian is known for his complete and total dedication to his patients and his ability to empathize with them and their families. Below is his nomination that came from his patient's mother:
"My daughter was admitted to the hospital in the worst pain of her life. She was extremely sick and needed emergency surgery, resulting in an ileostomy bag. She was recently diagnosed with Crohn's disease and ended up with an infection in her stomach. After surgery, she was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for five days and then was transferred to the 7th floor. Brian was amazing and took such good care of her. He explained everything to her and helped her come to terms with and understand all she had been through and will continue to go through. He understood that this was a lot for anyone—let alone an 18-year-old girl—to process and understand, and he was willing to help and explain things repeatedly. He made us feel better in the worst situation of our entire lives. Brian was the calm we needed when we felt we were losing control of everything. We can only hope that there are more people out there like Brian, helping to make people feel at ease in the worst of situations."
UP Health System – Marquette would like to also recognize the entire team of nurses who were nominated for the DAISY award this quarter:
- Gina Tudor, LPN, Emergency Department
- Madison Melching, RN, Cardiac Unit
- Elise Berg, RN, Family Birthing Center
- Lillian Churchill, Care Aid/Unit Clerk, Cardiac Unit
- Lauren Reckker, RN, Intensive Care Unit
- Sabrina Cox, RN, Intensive Care Unit
- Sidney Fletcher, RN, Medical/Surgical Unit
- Madison Dillinger, RN, Cardiac Unit
- Nykole Fitzgibbon, RN, Cardiac Unit
- Lauren Angeli, RN, Family Birthing Center
The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little-known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.) The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of patients and their families.
Patients, families, and colleagues may nominate nurses. Nominations are reviewed by a committee at UP Health System – Marquette, which then selects the winner. Awards are presented throughout the year at celebrations attended by the honoree’s colleagues, patients, friends, and family. Each honoree receives a certificate commending them that reads, “In deep appreciation of all you do, who you are, and the incredibly meaningful difference you make in the lives of so many people.” Honorees also receive a DAISY Award pin and a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.
Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, chief executive officer and co-founder of The DAISY Foundation said, “When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide patients every day and night. Yet these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for their super-human, extraordinary, compassionate work. The kind of work the nurses at UP Health System – Marquette are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of the DAISY Award.”
"One of our top priorities is making sure our nurses know how valued and appreciated they are for the incredible, lifesaving care they provide every day," stated Christine Stryker, MBA, MSN, RN, chief nursing officer, UP Health System-Marquette. "The DAISY Award is one way we do that, and we are proud to participate in the program, as we are proud of all our nursing staff."
In addition to the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, the Foundation expresses gratitude to the nursing profession internationally in over 3,900 healthcare facilities and schools of nursing with recognition of direct care nurses, nurse-led teams, nurse leaders, nursing faculty, and nursing students, through the J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects and nurses participating in medical missions.
To nominate an extraordinary nurse for the DAISY Award, visit our website. For more information on the DAISY Award, please visit the DAISY Foundation website.