Pediatrics nurse plucks DAISY award

St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center submitted the following article on one of its employees.

Avondale resident and St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center nurse Barbara Krug was recently honored for demonstrating extraordinary care by the DAISY Foundation (Diseases Attacking the Immune System).

Krug, a registered nurse in pediatrics, has been working at St. Joseph's since 2007. Her colleagues describe her as an asset to the department.

Patients and their families frequently request her care. She is recognized as someone who is always caring and loving to her patients.

The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses is part of the foundation's program to recognize the efforts nurses make every day. The award at St. Joseph's is co-sponsored by US Airways.

"We are proud to be among the hospitals participating in the DAISY Award program," said Linda Hunt, St. Joseph's president. "Nurses are heroes every day. Given the current national nursing shortage, this award could not be presented at a better time. It's important that our nurses know their work is highly valued, and the DAISY Foundation provides another way for us to do that."

The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation, based in Glen Ellen, Calif., was established by J. Mark Barnes and his family in memory of his son, J. Patrick Barnes. He died in 1999 at age 33 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little-known autoimmune disease.

The nursing care Patrick and his family received while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and families.

St. Joseph's joins Phoenix's Hospice of the Valley and 24 other medical facilities in the nation being honored with the Daisy Award.

News By You allows readers to recognize community members. Just go to southwestvalley.azcentral.com.

St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center nurse Barbara Krug, of Avondale, was recently honored for demonstrating extraordinary care by The DAISY Foundation.