SALISBURY, MD – Lauren Kinsey, RN, of TidalHealth Peninsula Regional’s Richard A. Henson
Cancer Institute in Ocean Pines, has been selected as the March 2025 recipient of the
DAISY Award for her compassionate care and special attention provided recently to a
patient.
Kinsey was nominated by a fellow RN who wrote:
“Our patients are incredibly tough and resilient despite the challenges that are thrown their
way from cancer. We are used to seeing them put on their brave faces no matter their
circumstances. It is twice the challenge for this patient who is also homeless. Not only does
this person have cancer to fight, but also the daily reminder of trying to find a safe and
warm place to rest their head.
This winter has been utterly brutal with ice/snow/frost, so Lauren made sure to collect and
purchase items for our patient to tolerate these outdoor elements. Her loving and thoughtful
gesture really touched our patient.
Lauren consistently shows this thoughtfulness and heart in her nursing practice every
single day, and I am sure there are dozens of patients who could attest to her qualities of
high character, compassion, and skilled touch.”
Kinsey was recently honored with the DAISY Award in a ceremony before her colleagues.
She received certificates commending her for being an extraordinary nurse, and a sculpture
called A Healer’s Touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe.
The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, Calif., and was established by
family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Barnes died at the age of 33 in late 1999
from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little-known but not
uncommon autoimmune disease.
The care Barnes and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique
means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and
patient families.
