Nurse Trish Harper was honored on Wednesday at Monadnock Community Hospital, for her work in the hospital’s birthing suite.
Harper received the DAISY Award, given to nurses across the country who are nominated by their patients. Harper was honored with a certificate and a statuette representing the bond between nurses and patients, as well as a pin.
“She definitely embodies everything we want to see in a nurse,” Chief Nursing Officer Vicki Loughery said, following the ceremony. “She gets along with everybody.”
Harper has been a nominee for the award for the past three years. She was nominated this year by Nilene Traffie of Rindge, who had all 11 of her children at Monadnock Community Hospital and had Harper for a nurse at some point for all of them.
“She was always smiling and helpful,” Traffie said. “Even when it was a hard time, she made me smile.”
Even over doctors, nurses can make the difference between a good experience and a bad one, Traffie said.
“The one-on-one care is so vital, and they can make you feel almost like you’re at home,” she said. “And there’s a high level of professionalism.”
Harper has been a nurse for the past 24 years. She took up the profession after the birth of her own three children and has been a nurse in the Monadnock Community Hospital birthing suite for her entire career.
“It’s amazing to connect with people at such a peak time in their lives,” Harper said. “Whether it’s a happy time or a sad time, it’s always so meaningful.”
Harper said every patient interaction is different.
“It’s never the same, and it’s never wrong, it’s about what they want. It’s always fascinating to me, and so meaningful,” Harper said.
“I have 11 birth stories,” said Traffie. “Trish must have thousands.”
Harper’s interaction with patients often goes well beyond the birth itself, as she’s a certified lactation consultant, and works with new mothers who are having trouble breastfeeding. She may work with those patients for months at a time, she said, and get to know some of them quite well.
Receiving the DAISY award is particularly meaningful, she said, because the nominations come from those patients she connects with.
“I’m honored,” Harper said. “For me to be recommended by the women who we take care of is so meaningful to me.”
The DAISY award was created by Mark and Bonnie Barnes in 1999, after the death of their son, Patrick Barnes from complications from an auto-immune disease. DAISY stands for “diseases attacking the immune system.” During his eight-week hospital stay before his death, the Barnes were touched by the care and compassion of his nurses and decided to honor his memory by creating a foundation to recognize their tireless work.
“Your patients will never, ever forget you. We have never forgotten the nurses who were with us,” Mark Barnes said during the award ceremony.
Monadnock Community Hospital is one of 2,700 hospitals nationwide that awards one of its nurses with the DAISY award each year.
Nominees for the DAISY award this year also included Jen Whitehead, Lisa Seppala, Pam Neal, Ashley Hill, Helen Gorecki, Carolyn Roy, Heather Derby, Donna Infante and Lindsay Snider. All nominees were honored with a certificate and flowers.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.