SALISBURY – Georgia Boyle, RN, of TidalHealth Peninsula Regional’s Labor and Delivery (L & D) unit, has been selected as the October 2024 recipient of the DAISY Award for her compassionate care and special attention provided to a recent patient during an extremely emotional and traumatic time.
In her nomination, the patient wrote:
What should have been an ordinary trip to visit family in Virginia and share the great news of our pregnancy, instead ended with my partner and I facing the heartbreak of a lifetime…the premature loss of our child.
Unfortunately, we found ourselves in the TidalHealth emergency room in Salisbury having contractions 4 months too soon. We were in a state (Maryland) we had never visited before with no family or friends nearby.
I was immediately taken to Labor and Delivery (L&D) and that’s where I meet an earth side angel named Georgia. From the moment she greeted me she was filled with compassion and care; she handled me like I was her kin.
I was afraid and unsure of what was to come and unaware I was about to experience a tragedy that would change my life forever. Georgia was by my side from the moment I arrived until her shift ended, and she even came back the next day and cared for me and my son until discharge.
She never left me as I began to cry and I will never forget the words she said to me, “I won’t leave you; I promise.” She was there every step of the way through delivery to my introduction to the Special Treasures Are Remembered (STAR) program and everything in between. The care and love she extended to my son was as if he was her own.
Georgia carefully made sure to keep every memory of him peaceful and filled with love. She was there for the graceful introduction, and she was there for our sorrow filled goodbye. My heart felt safe leaving our child in her arms.
Although my visit was tragic, I couldn’t imagine going through it with anyone else by my side. She was more than just my nurse; she became a part of our story.
I will never forget Georgia and how she cared for me during such a fragile time.
Boyle 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.
Cutline: Georgia Boyle, RN, is TidalHealth Peninsula Regional’s DAISY Award recipient for October 2024.
