Two PICU nurses awarded as DAISY Honorees for exceptional patient care

In 2020, two nurses from thePediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Mass General for Children (MGfC) received the DAISY Award. Recipients from Pediatrics include Emily Lloyd, RN, and Devin Chaves, RN. In total, 25 nurses throughout Mass General received awards and were selected from more than 500 nominations by colleagues, staff, patients and patient families.

The DAISY award ceremony consists of a group led by Debra Burke, RN, DNP, MBA, NEA-BC, senior vice president for Patient Care and chief nurse at Mass General, who gathered – with pins, banners, sculptures, certificates and cinnamon rolls– to surprise the DAISY awardees at Mass General.

The DAISY Awards were founded by the Barnes family in 1999 to remember their son Patrick, who died at age 33 from complications of the autoimmune disease idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura. The family wanted to create a way to honor the strong relationship their son had with his nurses and they developed this program to say “thank you” to nursing staff for the exceptional care they provide.

Awardees receive a DAISY honoree pin for their ID badges, a “A Healer's Touch” sculpture representing the bond between a patient and caregiver, a banner to display on the unit signed and dated by the winner and cinnamon rolls for the care team—recognizing the one thing Barnes was able to eat when he was sick and what he often shared with his nurses in appreciation of their compassionate care.

Emily Lloyd, RN

Lloyd was recognized for her clinical expertise and compassionate, patient-centered care. Her nomination from a patient’s family member reported how she treated his son medically and emotionally. “She did this by spending time holding his hand, speaking gently to him and doing everything in her power to keep him calm… Emily was the first to get a smile from him — it was so emotional just knowing that at the worst time in my son’s life, he was still able to feel love and happiness from someone he only knew for a few days.”

Devin Chaves, RN

Chaves, who was nominated by a patient’s parents, was cited to always be positive, upbeat and a provide a shoulder to lean on. The nominator wrote: “When my husband and I needed time to process things and cry, Devin would sit with our son and watch TV, play video games, play basketball and play cards. I am not one to leave my child alone with someone else, but Devin made me completely at ease.”