Johnston nurse recognized at Women & Infants Hospital

Women & Infants Hospital recently presented three DAISY Awards to nurses Dacia Dailey, RN, of Pawtucket; Alicia Santilli-Pace, RN, of Johnston; and Sandi Liberti, RN, of Bristol. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s program to recognize the above and beyond efforts performed by nurses every day.

Dailey and Santilli-Pace, nurses on the hospital’s inpatient medical/oncology unit, were both nominated by a patient’s wife, who wrote: “Dacia is a very alert, compassionate nurse ... Alicia is compassionate, funny. I felt it was easy to talk with her. She helped explain (in easy and simple terms) levels of palliative care and hospice, and advocated for me and my wife.”

Dailey has been working at Women & Infants since 2001. Santilli-Pace has been at Women & Infants since 1999.

Liberti, a nurse on the mother/baby unit, worked at Women & Infants from 1981 until she retired the day she received her DAISY Award. She was nominated by a patient she cared for following a c-section delivery, who said: “Sandi is that warm, compassionate nurse we all want during recovery. I just happened to be the fortunate one to have her as my nurse.”

The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, Calif., and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.

Said Bonnie Barnes, president and co-founder of the DAISY foundation: “When Patrick was critically ill, our family experienced first-hand the remarkable skill and care nurses provide patients every day and night. Yet these unsung heroes are seldom recognized for the super-human work they do. The kind of work the nurses at Women & Infants Hospital are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of The DAISY Award.”

To nominate an extraordinary nurse who works at any Women & Infants affiliated location or the main hospital, submit an application online at womenandinfants.org/daisy-award.cfm or in person. Fellow providers and patients may nominate a nurse for the award.