CMH announces latest winner of the DAISY Award
Contact: Sarah Bello
Mike Cahn, Same Day Surgery nurse, honored
ASTORIA, Ore. — CMH is pleased to announce Same Day Surgery nurse Mike Cahn as its most recent recipient of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.
Cahn is CMH’s fifth DAISY Award honoree. He has been a nurse at CMH for more than three years. He was nominated by a patient and his wife who wrote a letter to the hospital following his surgery.
“Starting an IV in him is often very painful. We always ask the nurse to take their time to make this as comfortable as possible,” they wrote. “Michael used a lot of lidocaine and gave it time to numb his arm. He hardly felt the IV insertion and is very grateful that Michael was patient, thoughtful, understanding and gentle, and even willing to put up with his silly jokes.”
The DAISY Foundation was created in 1999 after 33-year-old J. Patrick Barnes died from complications from an auto-immune disease. DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.
Barnes spent the last eight weeks of his life in hospitals while he was treated for his ITP symptoms. The nursing care he received profoundly impacted his family. Barnes’ family created the foundation and award to honor nurses who provide outstanding care to patients and patient families.
Award recipients receive a DAISY pin, a personalized certificate, a stone sculpture made by the Shona people of Zimbabwe titled “The Healer’s Touch,” and cinnamon rolls — a treat Barnes enjoyed while hospitalized. “The Healer’s Touch” represents the bond between nurses and their patients.
Cahn will be highlighted on the DAISY Foundation website and will be eligible to apply for several scholarships.
CMH will continue recognizing DAISY honorees throughout the year. If you have a great story about a CMH nurse, please submit it to Noelle Lund at nlund@columbiamemorial.org or at columbiamemorial.org/daisy.