Memorial Announces Ashley Espinoza, BSN, RN as September 2023 Daisy Winner

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​Congratulations to Ashley Espinoza, BSN, RN a team member in 2 Tower at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital! She was nominated by a coworker for her kindness and willingness to go the extra mile to care for her patients.

From the Nominator:

During a recent shift, she brought a patient downstairs to the butterfly garden in a wheelchair who had made the statement that she hadn't had a chance to see the sunshine (after 23 days on our unit). This particular patient was severely debilitated, so this required using a Hoyer lift, and her face was lit up with a smile when they returned to the floor. It may not seem like much to most, but it meant so much to this patient who had spent almost all of the past three weeks in a hospital bed. This stood out to me even more, knowing that Ashley had several high-acuity patients that day, and she went the extra mile to make a patient's day. She did not do it for recognition, but acts of kindness like this deserve just that. It's humbling to work alongside young nurses like Ashley, who are willing to go the extra mile to bring joy to those suffering.

About DAISY:

In late 1999, at the age of 33, Patrick Barnes awoke with some blood blisters in his mouth. Having survived Hodgkins Disease twice, he was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with the auto-immune disease, ITP (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura).

Said his father, Mark Barnes, "We are so blessed that we were able to spend the eight weeks of his hospitalization with him and his family. During those weeks, we experienced the best of Nursing. We were there to see the clinical skill that dealt with his very complex medical situation, the fast thinking of nurses who saved his life more than once, and that nursing excellence that took years to hone to the best of the profession. But frankly, as a patient family, we rather expected that Pat would have great clinical care. That was why he was in the hospital. What we did not expect was the way his nurses delivered that care - the kindness and compassion they gave Pat and all of us in his family every day. We were awed by the way the nurses touched him and spoke with him, even when he was on a ventilator and totally sedated. The way they informed and educated us eased our minds. They truly helped us through the darkest hours of our lives, with soft voices of hope and strong loving hugs that to this day, we still feel."

Just days after he died, the family began talking about what they would do to help fill the giant hole in their hearts that Pat’s passing had left. His wife came up with the acronym, DAISY, standing for diseases attacking the immune system. As they discussed what to do in Patrick’s memory, first and foremost, they wanted to say Thank You for the gifts nurses give their patients and families every day. That is when the family created The DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses.

For more information regarding Ashley's nomination, click here.