Floyd Nurse’s Exemplary Compassion Earns Him DAISY Award

“He has provided care that has made my father feel like a real person and not just a patient.” Those words, written by a family about the care a Floyd Medical Center registered nurse provided, explain one of the reasons Elliott Gault was honored with the DAISY Award.

The DAISY Award is an international program that recognizes bedside nurses for the exceptional care they provide patients. The award was established by the family of Patrick Barnes after he died from an auto-immune disease while being treated in a Seattle hospital. DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The Barnes family was thankful for the care he received and created the award to thank bedside nurses for the job they do.

Two families nominated Gault for a DAISY. One of the family members described the extraordinary care he provided to their father, who had been in the hospital for months. “He not only takes care of my father’s medical needs, but he truly cares.”

The family member said they appreciated the small things Gault did, like rubbing lotion on their father’s feet and making sure he is comfortable. The family member said the nurse took time to get to know their father and build a relationship with him.

J’May Moats, Clinical Manager in the Center for Joint Replacement, said Gault noticed his patient was upset about not having a haircut and a decent shave since arriving at the hospital. “Elliott provided that special care by shaving him and giving him a haircut,” said Moats. “The patient was very grateful, and when you would enter his room he wanted everyone to notice he indeed had a new haircut.”

Moats said the patient has sent Gault pictures of his progress since returning home.  

A second family also nominated Gault for the DAISY Award. That family wrote “Elliot is very kind and caring. He takes good care of his patients, does everything he can to make sure his patients are comfortable and well taken care of and has a good sense of humor and good bedside manners.”

Gault has been at Floyd for three years, but has only been a nurse for six months. He may have learned about how to provide excellent patient care from his father, Jamie Gault, a licensed practical nurse with Nursing Services. Jamie Gault is a past recipient of the DAISY Award.

​Gault was also presented with a sculpture called A Healer’s Touch. Each piece is hand-carved for the DAISY Foundation by an artist of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.