WRNMMC, Bethesda, Md.  –   Walter Reed’s Directorate for Nursing recognized former Army Sgt. Brandon Keller, a licensed practical nurse, as its December 2023 DAISY Award honoree.

Each month, the nursing team presents the DAISY Award to one of its members as a way of saying thank you and recognizing the “extraordinary patient care” and work of that nurse, explained Joan Loepker Duncan, chief nurse in charge of the Cardiology Service and coordinator for the DAISY recognition program at Walter Reed.

Although Keller, who served on 5 Center, recently transitioned out of the Army, the Walter Reed nursing team led by Army Col. Wendy Woodall, chief nurse, virtually presented him the award in December.

A Walter Reed patient nominated Keller for the DAISY Award, stating that Keller went “above and beyond in demonstrating the depth of dedication that our caregivers provide.” The patient, who wishes to remain anonymous, added, “I had emergency surgery and had some hand/eye control issues. I was in a bad place when I arrived at Walter Reed. This nurse offered to help me.”

The patient shared that Keller was “very patient and compassionate. I was impressed that he took his time and listened to me. He helped me pay my mortgage, giving me peace of mind [because] I won't be homeless. This type of going above and beyond demonstrates the depth of dedication that our caregivers provide.”

The family of J. Patrick Barnes established the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses in 2001. DAISY stands for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. Barnes passed from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), an autoimmune disease, at a Seattle hospital in late 1999. Appreciative of the nursing care Barnes received during the last year of his life, his family established the award to thank the nurses who provided “skillful and compassionate care.”

Since then, health care facilities worldwide now recognize their nurses with the DAISY Award, which includes a certificate, pin and stone sculpture, “The Healer’s Touch,” hand-carved by the Shona people in Zimbabwe. An estimated 5,400 health care facilities and schools of nursing in all 50 states and 35 other countries and territories participate in the DAISY Award program, according to the DAISY Foundation.

A committee of nurses at Walter Reed accepts DAISY Award nominations from patients, nurses, hospital staff members, families of patients, and others to determine the honoree each month here. From those nominations, an honoree is selected and recognized in his or her workspace by the nursing team.