Each month, Phoebe honors a nurse for his or her extraordinary efforts at the bedside with the DAISY Award, a national program that recognizes nursing excellence. Often nursing leaders who supervise these outstanding nurses do not consider their roles as eligible for the DAISY award. However, it is evident that the environment created by nurse leaders is a strong factor in how direct-care nurses take care of patients. In December, Jeremy Martin, Phoebe Sumter Medical Center ER and Critical Care Unit Nurse Manger, was awarded the DAISY Nurse Manger Award.
 
Jeremy was nominated by his colleagues for his excellence in leadership, team building and the compassion he shows to patients and staff. Below are a few excerpts from his nomination:
           
“I have witnessed him first-hand bringing staff lunch when the workload was too much for the crew to stop. He is a remarkable leader who truly cares and is not going to ask his team to do things he is not willing to do himself.”
 
“You can go to him with any concern and he will respond with kindness, understanding, and a willingness to find viable solutions.”

“His focus is always patient-centered. This is exemplified in the way he steps in to help on his way out the door, staying late because he knows how important patient care is and that the patient always comes first.”

“He is always pushing the team to reach for higher goals both professionally and personally. He encourages teamwork and for the team to set a good example for the younger generation.”

 
In 2018, Phoebe started honoring and celebrating nurse managers with the DAISY Nurse Leader Award, which is awarded twice a year. Nominations for the DAISY Nurse Leader Award were accepted across the Phoebe Putney Health System.
 
The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, CA, and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. 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. 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. DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.
 
At a presentation given in front of his colleagues, family, friends and community members from EMS and the Fire Department, Jeremy received a certificate commending him for being an "Extraordinary Nurse Leader."  He was also given a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa.