Resourceful Nurse Helps Connect Patient with Granddaughter
Kerri Johns is September DAISY recipient at Atrium Health Floyd
ROME, Ga., Sept. 8, 2025 –Kerri Johns, a nurse at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center, provided more than medical care for a patient. Her thoughtfulness also helped bring him joy when he needed it.
The patient’s wife periodically texted him photos of his grandchild during his hospital stay. The patient expressed sadness at not being able to see or hear the tyke.
Hearing this, Johns quickly came up with a solution. That afternoon, the patient notified his nurse that the grandbaby was at their house. Johns taught the patient how to Facetime so he could see and hear his grandbaby in real time. When his wife answered the phone, theyall burst into tears.
“I really felt bad for him,” said Johns. “I knew it was really making him sad, and I thought this would really lift his spirits.”
Sheila Bennett, senior vice president and chief of patient services at Atrium Health Floyd, thanked Johns for her resourcefulness during a ceremony where she presented Johns with a DAISY Award for going above and beyond.
“This nurse’s thoughtfulness and compassion really came through,” Bennett said. “I was impressed because she clearly understood how important it is to help patients and their loved ones stay connect.”
The family of Patrick Barnes established the DAISY Foundation after Barnes died from an autoimmune disease while being treated in a Seattle hospital. DAISY stands for ‘Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem.’
Bennett presented Johns with a DAISY pin and a sculpture entitled “A Healer’s Touch.” Members of the Shona ethnic group in Zimbabwe hand-carve the sculptures.
The nurse and her teammates were also treated with cinnamon buns, a DAISY tradition because it was one of the few things Barnes could eat while he was hospitalized.
If you know an Atrium Health Floyd nurse who provided exceptional care to you or a loved one, you can nominate them for a DAISY award by visiting floyd.org/DAISY and completing the online form.
https://www.daisyfoundation.org/about-daisy-award
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 Healthand Advocate Aurora Health. Atrium Health Floyd strategically combined with Harbin Clinic in 2024 and employs more than 5,200 teammates who provide care in over 40 medical specialties at four facilities: Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center – a 361-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; and Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Behavioral Health,also in Rome. Together, Atrium Health Floyd and Harbin Clinic provide primary care, specialty care and urgent care throughout northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd also operates a stand-alone emergency department in Chattooga County, the first such facility to be built from the ground-up in Georgia.
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. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health services nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. Advocate Health is nationally recognized for its expertise in heart and vascular, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs more than 160,000 teammates across 69 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 redefining care for all, Advocate Health provides more than $6 billion in annual community benefits.
https://weisradio.com/2025/06/04/atrium-health-floyd-teammate-receives-daisy-award/
https://weisradio.com/2025/03/02/daisy-award-winner-from-atrium-health/
