ICU Nurse Thanked for Compassion, Outstanding Care
Atrium Health Floyd’s Rebekah Smith Earns DAISY Award
ROME, Ga., Dec. 7, 2023 – Rebekah Smith’s kindness, compassion and attention to details did not go unnoticed by the relative of a patient being cared for at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center’s ICU. The registered nurse, who earned a DAISY Award because of her commitment and dedication, was a source of comfort and care to both the patient, who was experiencing liver failure, and her family.
“From the very beginning she showed compassion, love, understanding, and comfort to not only our family, but most importantly, my aunt,” wrote the woman who nominated Smith for the award, which is given to bedside nurses for providing outstanding care. “Rebekah came in on a day when she wasn’t even working to check on her, to cheer her improvement on and braided her hair. That meant so much to us. I am so happy to see that there are still wonderful people like this in this world that truly care about others like this,” the patient’s niece wrote. ”Today, my aunt is recovered and I know for a fact Rebekah had so much to do with this.”
Smith has been a teammate with Atrium Health Floyd for 2 years. She is a graduate of the nurse residency program, which provides new graduates with a dedicated team of nurse educators that helps them transition to registered nurse status. “I am so happy to get this award,” Smith said. “It shows that I am doing what I was called to do. It is really gratifying to know you are making a difference.” The family of Patrick Barnes established the DAISY Award after he died from an autoimmune disease while being treated in a Seattle hospital.
Sheila Bennett, senior vice president and chief of patient services at Floyd, presented Smith with a DAISY pin and a sculpture entitled “A Healer’s Touch.” The DAISY sculptures are hand-carved for the DAISY Foundation by members of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe. Smith and her teammates were also given cinnamon buns, a DAISY tradition because it was one of the few things Barnes could eat while he was hospitalized.
About Atrium Health Floyd
The Atrium Health Floyd family of health care services is a leading medical provider and economic force in northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd is part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, created from the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health. Atrium Health Floyd employs more than 3,500 teammates who provide care in over 40 medical specialties at three hospitals: Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center – a 304-bed full-service, acute care hospital and regional referral center in Rome, Georgia; Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center in Cedartown, Georgia; and Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center in Centre, Alabama; as well as Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Behavioral Health – a freestanding 53-bed behavioral health facility in Rome – and also primary care and urgent care network locations throughout northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama.
About Advocate Health
Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the United States – created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois, Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health serves nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs nearly 155,000 team members across 68 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation’s largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides nearly $6 billion in annual community benefits.