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FROM STAFF REPORTS

ALABASTER — Shelby Baptist Medical Center today announced Amber Gilbert, RN has been honored with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses (The DAISY Award) in recognition of the outstanding, compassionate nursing care she provides patients and families every day.

A member of the Shelby Baptist team for eight years and currently a nurse in the medical intensive care unit, Gilbert was nominated by the wife of a patient who succumbed to a sudden illness and received a second nomination from a colleague.

An excerpt of the nomination submitted by the wife of the patient read, “She always came into our room with such compassion. She cared for my husband…stayed by his side, making sure he was stabilized. She cried with me. She gave me privacy when needed to tell friends and family what was happening, but all the while taking care of my husband. She held me up as I was unable to walk out of MICU when I knew I would never see my husband again. She hugged me and cried with me outside the MICU as I uncontrollably sobbed on her shoulder. She took a devastating moment and made it bearable. She was an angel sent by God. ”

“She is the living definition of what a nurse is and should be,” stated a portion of the nomination received by Gilbert’s colleague.

According to Shelby Baptist Medical Center CEO, Daniel Listi, “Our nurses are exceptional and deserve to be formally recognized for their dedication, spirit and the quality of care they provide in the community, and we are proud Amber was selected to receive this distinguished honor. We are excited to celebrate all the stories of compassionate care we hear every day and look forward to recognizing additional healthcare heroes across Shelby Baptist through the DAISY Award program.”

Gilbert received “A Healer’s Touch” sculpture, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Africa and an official certificate from the DAISY Foundation, as well as a bouquet of daisies from the hospital to mark the occasion and freshly baked cinnamon rolls, a tribute to the beloved namesake who inspired the award.

Created by The DAISY Foundation — an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System — the DAISY Award 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 the patients’ family and friends.

Nurses at Shelby Baptist Medical Center can be nominated for The DAISY Award online at shelbybaptistmedicalcenter.com/contact/daisy-form.