"Dan Is My Hero"

From left: Sherry Powell, wife of Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial registered nurse, Dan Powell, RN; DAISY Award recipient, Powell; Powell’s nominator and recent patient, Debbie Crawford of Croton; Crawford’s niece Hayley Sanderson; and Gerber Memorial Chief Nursing Officer Meleah Mariani.

Gerber Memorial DAISY nursing award goes to veteran nurse for his outstanding care
 
FREMONT– Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial today awarded the DAISY award to Dan Powell, RN, who works the overnight shift in the intensive care unit for providing outstanding nursing care – and going an extra mile to help a patient be comfortable. The DAISY award is given each quarter and Gerber Memorial patients nominate nurses who provide exceptional care and service.
 Debbie Crawford of Croton praised her entire nursing team for being caring and efficient, saying “everyone was amazing” and singled out Powell as the nurse who “made the most difference” in her care.
 “Dan answered any questions I had in a manner that really made it easily understandable,” Crawford said in her nomination. “He was very prompt to answer my calls to the nurse’s station and always checked that I was comfortable before he left me. The most outstanding kindness Dan showed was when I asked for a fan. Dan searched everywhere and eventually was successful. Hallelujah! That air movement made a huge difference in my comfortable stay! Dan is my hero!”
 “It’s my honor to serve and care for our patients,” Powell said. “I love what I do and my goal is to enhance our patients’ stay at Gerber Memorial in every way possible.”
 A Fremont resident and active in the Newaygo County community, Powell has worked at Gerber Memorial since 1998. In addition to Crawford, Powell’s family and colleagues surprised him with the award early in the morning.
 Part of a national program, the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses is part of the DAISY Foundation's program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day. 
 Nomination forms are available at nursing stations throughout the hospital and patients can submit those forms either by placing them in gray boxes near those forms or by handing them to a nurse or other hospital staff. The forms will be available at nursing stations in the intensive care unit; medical/surgery; birth center; outpatient surgery; emergency department; and the specialty clinic in the basement of the Multispecialty Clinic. Nominating forms will also be available at the hospital’s main lobby, as well as included in admission packets.
 The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, Calif., and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Barnes died at the age of 33 in 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. The care Barnes 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, and they are chosen by a committee of nurses at Gerber Memorial to receive the award. Each honoree receives a certificate commending her or him for being an “Extraordinary Nurse.”  The certificate 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.” The honoree also receives a beautiful sculpture called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved from serpentine stone by artists of the Shona tribe in southern Africa.