Brittney McGhee Smith Recognized with Hot Springs DAISY Award

Brittney McGhee Smith, RN, was recognized with a Hot Springs DAISY Award for the care she provided to a young patient who had experienced extreme skin damage.

According to the nomination, the patient had been hospitalized for more than a week with a serious condition that included extreme damage to her skin. This made the patient very uncomfortable and made certain elements of nursing care more difficult.

Brittney was this patient’s nurse on two separate occasions. On the first assignment she was one-on-one with the patient for CRRT, which gave her time to provide true intensive care. She bathed the patient carefully and moisturized her skin thoroughly.

Brittney had the patient again a few days later, only this time the patient was one of three she was assigned to care for. The next morning the patient once again looked so good that I sent her mother a picture so she could see the improvement.

“Brittney is always an amazing nurse. She works hard, she has a positive attitude, and she is a natural teacher to younger nurses on the unit. In this instance, however, I believe she went above and beyond and the family was so grateful. I truly believe that part of the patient’s overall improvement was assisted by Brittney’s compassionate care.”

The DAISY Award was established by the DAISY Foundation in memory of J. Patrick Barnes who died at 33 of ITP, an auto-immune disease. The Barnes Family was awestruck by the clinical skills, caring and compassion of the nurses who cared for Patrick, so they created the national award to thank nurses everywhere.