Pam Arp earns DAISY for outstanding care
ROME, Ga., March 15, 2024
– A caring nurse at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center made an impression on a family, not only for the care she provided a patient after surgery, but also for making sure family members were taken care of while they were visiting their loved one.
For her efforts, Pam Arp was named a DAISY Award winner, an international honor that recognizes bedside nurses for providing outstanding care.
“I don't think we can ever put into words how much Pam will always mean to this family," the family member wrote in a letter nominating Arp for the award. “We cannot brag on her enough."
The nurse stayed past the end of her shift one night just to make sure the patient was OK and left the hospital to get some food for a family member after the hospital cafeteria had closed.
“Pam will always hold a huge place in our hearts, not only for helping save our mama, but also for helping us understand what was going on and how to help mom finish recovering at home. Pam is the best nurse mom has ever had," the nomination form stated.
Sheila Bennett, senior vice president and chief of patient services at Atrium Health Floyd, became emotional when presenting the DAISY to Arp.
“When I heard it was Pam, I totally realized why she won, because she took care of my mother several times and everything in this letter is true. You are special and you do care," Bennett said.
Arp, who is a nurse on the medical surgical unit, has been a teammate at Atrium Health Floyd since 2001. It is the first time she has won a DAISY Award.
“I am honored. I love taking care of patents," she said. “I kind of pamper them but I feel like that is what I am called to do."
The family of Patrick Barnes established the DAISY Award after he died from an autoimmune disease while being treated in a Seattle hospital.
Arp was given a DAISY pin and a sculpture entitled “A Healer's Touch." The DAISY sculptures are hand-carved for the DAISY Foundation by members of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.
The nurse and her teammates were also treated with cinnamon buns, a DAISY tradition because it was one of the few things Patrick Barnes could eat while he was hospitalized.
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 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, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health serves nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies. 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 nearly 155,000 team members across 68 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 equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides nearly $6 billion in annual community benefits.