CNBNews

Jefferson Health recently presented two of its Washington Township Hospital employees — Jeffrey Szurek, RN, and Spencer Reitano, PCT — with a DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses and a Beyond Expectations of Excellence (BEE) Award.

Jeffrey Szurek, an Emergency Department (ED) nurse, was recognized with a DAISY Award for providing compassionate patient care and assisting a co-worker. He stayed beyond his shift to offer support in a situation involving an Emergency Department patient (and his accompanying son), whose wife and mother was coincidentally a patient in the hospital’s ICU. Szurek stayed beyond his shift so the nurse caring for the patient could go home to be with her newborn. Along with supporting his colleague, Jeff's kind gesture made it possible for the family to visit their wife and mother in the ICU and request she receive comfort care before passing away. “Jeff ensured she did not pass away alone,” the colleague wrote on the nomination. “He is an amazing nurse, co-worker, and person.”

Reitano, a Medical-Surgical Unit Patient Care Technician from Sewell, NJ, was honored with a BEE Award for excellence in supporting nursing care. “It's not easy leaving a loved one in someone else’s care, but he met all of my mother's needs and made her feel safe and comfortable,” a grateful family member wrote. We had an exceptional experience at Jefferson Health.”

DAISY and BEE honorees are nominated by patients, visitors, family members, nurses, physicians, and other colleagues. Part of an international program, DAISY awards are awarded to nurses who make a profound difference in the lives of patients and patients’ families. BEE honorees, meanwhile, are non-nursing employees who work alongside nurses to improve the patient experience. Winners are chosen by Jefferson’s Clinical Recognition Committee in New Jersey.

The nonprofit DAISY Foundation was established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died in 1999 from complications of an autoimmune disease. For more information about the DAISY Award, visit www.DAISYfoundation.org. To learn more about Jefferson Health, visit www.JeffersonHealth.org.