St. Luke's Honors Four Nurses with DAISY Awards

St. Luke’s Hospital recently honored four nurses with DAISY Awards for extraordinary nurses who go above and beyond the call of duty. Congratulations to Maggie Cheng, Mark Faller, Kristy Lohman and Heather Sides for their deserving recognitions!

Maggie Cheng, RN, Medical-Surgical
Maggie was nominated by her colleague for her compassionate care while helping a Mandarin-speaking patient. Her colleague wrote: “I would check on this patient/family daily. When the patient had Maggie as his RN, he would be smiling and there was always a look of relief on the sons' faces. Maggie helped me several times communicate with the patient/family during the discharge process and education regards to the Pleurx drainage system and the kit ordering process. When the son called the next day with several more questions, she was able to assist me with communicating with the son on the phone. This conversation took over 10 minutes out of her busy morning, but she did not hesitate to assist me again. The discharge plan would not have been successful and would not have gone so smoothly without Maggie! Maggie is very caring and a complete joy to work with. We are so lucky to have her on day shift!! She is always smiling and is willing to help the other staff and patients. I have never heard her say "no, I can't" or "I don't have time to." She is very calm and compassionate with her patients and co-workers. Thank you, Maggie!!”

Mark Faller, RN, Telemetry, St. Luke’s Des Peres Hospital
Mark is a nurse on the telemetry unit. He was nominated by a patient who said: “I had a massive heart attack two weeks prior to coming back to the hospital and I was very scared. Mark made me feel so much more at ease. He always has a smile on his face. He is warm and caring and very professional. He is a good listener and carries out tasks with a positive attitude. He is a credit to your hospital.”

Kristy Lohman, RN, Intensive Care Unit, St. Luke’s Hospital
As an ICU nurse, Kristy’s caring nature makes a daily, positive impact. A patient’s family nominated her for going above and beyond: “During the 3 months that our daughter was in the ICU, she received outstanding care from many nurses, however, Kristy Lohman stood out above all for her truly exemplary blend of expert medical skills and remarkable compassion for a patient with complex, chronic medical issues. She always made time to do the extra things to make our daughter as comfortable as possible in very difficult circumstances. Her smiles, kind words, and can-do attitude became a pillar of strength for our family as we held our daily vigil at our daughter's room. Kristy made our daughter's and our family's difficult journey so much more bearable. In her 20 years of treatment at St. Luke's we have never experienced a more talented nursing professional.”

Heather Sides, RN, BSN, Diabetes/Surgical, St. Luke's Hospital
Heather works on our diabetes/surgical unit, Division 8700. Her undivided attention to a patient and the patient’s family prompted a nomination: “My mom was admitted to St. Luke's early on a Sunday morning for appendicitis. My dad and I were with her all day. When it was determined that her surgery wouldn't be performed for 48 hours (due to blood-thinning meds she had taken), our nurse Heather came in and told us Mom could have clear liquids. She knew my dad and I had also not eaten that day so Heather handed each of us a menu while at the same time calling food service. Heather told us that hot food was only available until 2:00 pm – it was 1:50 pm. Heather was literally on hold with Food Services for 15 minutes when they finally took our order it was 2:06 and the Food Services person would not allow us to order anything hot. Heather professionally explained that we had been on hold for 15 minutes but to no avail. Heather wrote down our orders on a piece of paper and went down to the food service department. Within 10 minutes our food arrived piping hot and exactly what we ordered. Shortly thereafter Heather came in to make sure our food had arrived and we were happy with it. She removed the empty food trays herself, not waiting for someone else, straightening the room as she went. Heather checked on not just her patient but also Dad and me – caring for our whole family as though we were her own. The way Heather did her job made us feel like we were her only patients, though clearly that wasn't the case. She does her job with warmth, kindness professionalism and empathy that is rarely seen these days. She has the heart and spirit not only of a nurse, but more importantly, a caregiver. We truly feel cared for.”

Nurses are nominated by anyone in the organization – patients, family members, colleagues and staff – who experiences or observes extraordinary compassionate care being provided by a nurse. The DAISY Foundation established the DAISY Award in honor of Patrick Barnes who dies at age 33 from complications of an autoimmune disease. The award represents a “thank you” to nurses everywhere and honors the super-human work they do for patients and families every day. Know a deserving nurse who you want to nominate? Submit your form here.