Extraordinary Nurse Recognized At Woodland Heights

Date:

Lufkin Texas (March 7, 2018) – Nurses at Woodland Heights Medical Center are being honored with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses ®. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care they provide patients and families every day.

The DAISY Award recipient for the first quarter of 2018 is Brandon Schmidt, RN in the Emergency Department. For the past ten years Brandon has worked as an emergency nurse in the health care profession. He is a true servant leader who will do a task before he will ask someone else to do it. A small reason why Brandon stands out is his ability to be calm while working in a raging emergency department while providing quality patient care.

His emergency medicine patient care and leadership alone would be enough to nominate Brandon for any award, but his action in late summer of 2017 stands out. On August 17, 2017 Hurricane Harvey hit Texas beginning two weeks of destruction affecting most of the coastal region. The flooding of South East Texas area displaced an estimated more than 30,000 and by August 29 13,000 people had been rescued from flooded homes and neighborhoods.

One of the thousands of volunteers that never thought twice about hooking up his two boats to rescue families out of the water was Brandon. He, along with others, spent days attached to law enforcement agencies boating in and out of the flooded areas helping those that were in need. On a day he was scheduled to work, he called the emergency department leadership team to see if someone could cover his shift so that he could stay in the area to help with rescue efforts. When Brandon returned to work, he never once was heard talking about what “he did” or how many “he” saved. It was just normal for him to help those in need. Knowing he will never draw attention to his actions or ask for acknowledgment of an assignment well done is just everyday work for Brandon. This is why the DAISY Award has been awarded to Brandon Schmidt.

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 their patients and patient families.

Nurses may be nominated by patients, families, and colleagues. There are nomination forms throughout the hospital and also online at WoodlandHeights.net. The award recipient is chosen by a committee at Woodland Heights to receive The DAISY Award, which will be presented on a quarterly basis. Each Honoree receives a certificate, sculpture and gift bag/certificate along with banner recognition in their department.

Said Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, President and Co-Founder of The DAISY Foundation, “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 the super-human, extraordinary, compassionate work they do. The kind of work the nurses at Woodland Heights are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award.”

“We are proud to be among the healthcare organizations participating in The DAISY Award program. Nurses are heroes every day. It’s important that our nurses know their work is highly valued, and The DAISY Foundation provides a way for us to do that,” said Debra Taylor, Chief Nursing Officer for Woodland Heights.

Ezra McMullen
Ezra McMullin is a content and social media producer at MSGPR and attends Angelina College. He unwinds after a long day by playing XBox, telling himself he'll just play one more level before bed.

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