Picture of The Daisy Award for extraordinary nurses. Honoring nurses internationally in memory of J. Patrick Barnes.

The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses

Do you want to say "Thank You" to your nurse? We encourage you to share your story and nominate a nurse for the DAISY Award.

At Ashe Memorial Hospital, we take great pride in providing patient-centered, high-quality care to the Ashe County community. Our nurses play an essential role in enhancing the patient experience by consistently demonstrating excellence through their clinical expertise and extraordinary compassionate care.

Sheila Holman, a RN on our medical/surgical floor was named Ashe Memorial Hospital's inaugural DAISY Award winner in May 2021.

"I was absolutely thrilled beyond belief to have received the first Daisy Award at Ashe Memorial Hospital, and to say I was shocked was a huge understatement," Holman said. "For me this is a dream come true to be a RN. I have a picture when I was 4 years old, receiving a nurse bag for Christmas, I knew then it was my calling in life. But having a learning disability of dyslexia kept me from this dream. After many years of wishing and hoping, God answered my prayers by opening doors. God placed three women in my life Pam Owens, Diana Hendrix and Amanda Munday, along with my awesome family, who without them I would have never made it through nursing school. It was one of the hardest accomplishments I have ever completed. I am so very blessed to have been nominated."

Have you or a loved one been positively impacted by the efforts and contributions of one of our nurses? Please say "thank you" by sharing your story of how a nurse made a difference you will never forget!

Nomination forms are available throughout the hospital or can be found here. Completed nomination forms can be placed in the collection boxes located in the hospital's main lobby or emergency department lobby or mailed to the address on the form. Nurses may be nominated by patients, families and colleagues.

The DAISY Foundation was established by the family of J. Patrick Barnes after he died from complications of the auto-immune disease Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) in 1999 at the age of 33. During his hospitalization, the family was touched by the care and compassion shown to Barnes and his entire family. When he died, they felt compelled to say "thank you" to nurses in a very public way. To learn more, visit the DAISY Foundation.