UConn Health patients have a new way to recognize nurses for their outstanding care and compassion.

The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses is an international recognition program that honors nurses and nurse practitioners and expresses gratitude for their exceptional care. Patients and families can nominate RNs or APRNs from either the UConn John Dempsey Hospital or University Medical Group.

“We really want to recognize nurses who have made special connections with their patients and ensure that they get that recognition and that they realize the impact that they have had from the patient’s perspective,” says Valerie Ling, nurse manager who oversees UConn Health’s nursing excellence programs.

Not long after her arrival in March 2025, Ling started working with Nanette Pink, nurse manager of the hospital’s orthopedics and surgery floor, to bring the DAISY Awards to UConn Health.

“The impetus is really to recognize the work our direct-care nursing staff do day in and day out, whether in inpatient or outpatient settings, and to hear directly from patients and their families about the impact these nurses have had on their care,” Pink says.

DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The DAISY Foundation was established by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, who died in his mid-30s from complications of an autoimmune disease. The kindness and compassion his nurses showed during his hospitalization inspired the family to create the DAISY Awards as a way for patients and families to recognize nurses. In the 27 years since Barnes’ diagnosis, healthcare organizations throughout the world have adopted the DAISY Awards.

“It is internationally recognized for nursing, and it’s something that no matter where a nurse’s career may lead, the DAISY Award is something that they can be proud of throughout the world,” Pink says.

In that way, the DAISY Awards are similar to the Nightingale Awards for Excellence in Nursing, another high-profile nursing accolade that spans the profession. But unlike Nightingale nurses, who are nominated by peers or supervisors in recognition of their impact on the profession, DAISY awardees are largely nominated by patients or patients’ families specific to an individual patient encounter.

There are occasions when it’s fitting for a coworker to nominate a nurse for a DAISY Award, for example, when a physician observes a nurse’s special connection with a patient, but it is primarily intended as a way for patients and their families to say, “Thank you.”

“It really does focus on the patient experience, and it focuses on pausing to acknowledge the impact that nurse had on that patient or that family,” Pink says.

UConn Health is taking nominations on a rolling basis and will select up to four honorees per quarter. Winning a DAISY Award once does not disqualify any nurse from winning again in the future.

“Investing in and supporting this program allows us to systematically recognize the compassionate care our nurses provide, boost staff morale, and strengthen our commitment to a healthy, resilient practice environment,” says Michelle DeLayo, associate vice president of nursing operations and quality. “When a patient or their family member nominates one of our nurses for a DAISY Award, that recognition is even more meaningful because it demonstrates the profound impact our staff member had on another human being, and reinforces the pride we feel every day to work with such an amazing nursing team.”

Those interested in nominating a UConn Health nurse for a DAISY Award can do so through the online nomination form.