Heather Braden Earns DAISY Award
ROME, Ga., October 23, 2024 – A single mother and her special-needs daughter found themselves in a tough situation. Their house had burned down. They had to quickly move out of the hotel where they were staying into a mobile home. To do that, they needed the wheelchair ramp from their former home installed at the mobile home quickly so they could move in.
Heather Braden, an RN at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center who had the daughter as a patient, realized she could help.
“Her house had burned down; she was in a hotel room, and they were kicking her out that day," Braden said. “What do you do? Who helps people like this?" Braden does.
She called her husband, Dana Braden, who is a firefighter in Milton. He has a trailer, and the couple helped move the ramp to the family's new address so they could move in their belongings.
Because of her compassion, Braden received a DAISY Award at the hospital on Tuesday. The international program recognizes bedside nurses for the exceptional care they provide. A patient or the patient's family nominates winners of the award.
“Beyond the tangible assistance, the nurse's gesture provided significant emotional support," said Sheila Bennett, senior vice president and chief of patient services at Floyd, as she read the nomination. “The act of moving the ramp also symbolized a restoration of some level of normalcy and dignity for the family."
“This is what the DAISY Award was made for," Bennett said.
The family of Patrick Barnes established the DAISY Foundation after Barnes died from an auto-immune disease while being treated in a Seattle hospital.
Bennett presented Braden 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 a Floyd nurse who provided exceptional care of you or a loved one, you can nominate them for a DAISY award by completing this online form.
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. 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 Atrium Health
Atrium Health is a nationally recognized leader in shaping health outcomes through innovative research, education and compassionate patient care. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atrium Health is part of Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, which was created from the combination with Advocate Aurora Health. A recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research, Wake Forest University School of Medicine is its academic core. Atrium Health is renowned for its top-ranked pediatric, cancer and heart care, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Atrium Health is also a leading-edge innovator in virtual care and mobile medicine, providing care close to home and in the home. Ranked nationally among U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals in eight pediatric specialties and for rehabilitation, Atrium Health has also received the American Hospital Association's Quest for Quality Prize and its 2021 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award, as well as the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Equity Award for its efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care. With a commitment to every community it serves, Atrium Health seeks to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all, providing $2.8 billion last year in free and uncompensated care and other community benefits.
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. 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 155,000 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 providing equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides nearly $6 billion in annual community benefits.