Nurse recognized with Foundation Award‏

Kaveh Khansari, R.N., is congratulated by Elaine Law, R.N., at a ceremony recognizing his recent DAISY Foundation Award. Khansari helped care for Law’s daughter following an auto accident. See accompanying story for details. 

Lewiston, Maine - Registered nurse Kaveh Khansari has been recognized as a Central Maine Medical Center’s DAISY Award recipient.

The DAISY Award is sponsored by the DAISY Foundation and recognizes nurses who consistently demonstrate in their work the following attributes: compassion; critical thinking skills; passion about life; patient- and family-focused care; patient advocacy; support of all healthcare team members; and nursing profession role model.

Khansari recently assumed new duties on the Central Maine Medical Center Intensive Care Unit. At the time of his recognition as a DAISY Foundation award winner, he was a member of the nursing staff at CMMC’s Orthopaedic Institute of Central Maine.

Registered nurse Elaine Law, who works on CMMC’s Neonatal Intermediate Care Unit, nominated Khansari for the award. She got to know Khansari during a harrowing time for her and her family.

“My daughter Amy was involved in a three-car accident on September 12th and was brought to CMMC for emergency care. ... She was in pain and swollen and bruised but thankfully she suffered nothing more serious. She was admitted overnight for observation on M2,” said Law.

“We were grateful to have such a knowledgeable patient advocate [as Khansari] on our side. We trusted his judgement completely and were very grateful for his direction. Kaveh spent considerable time caring for Amy. He painstakingly washed and cleaned glass and dirt from not only her body but also suctioned her full, thick head of long hair for glass and debris. All the while taking great care in making her feel comfortable. It wasn’t until the change of shift at 7:15 a.m. that we were aware that Kaveh had other patients he was responsible for on the unit. He made my daughter and our family feel like we were the only patients he had to care for,” Law said.

“I am a seasoned and experienced nurse at CMMC. Kaveh showed me and taught me things that I will bring to my own practice to help my patients experience the best possible care that I can give them. I am honored and blessed to have had been given this lesson of example by this strong and compassionate caregiver,” Law said.

The DAISY Award was established in 1999 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at 33 from complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. DAISY is an acronym for “diseases attacking the immune system”. The foundation is headquartered in Glen Ellen, Calif.

“We are very fortunate to have the level of nursing expertise that Kaveh, and many other nurses at CMMC, have to offer to our patients and their families.  The compassion and dedication of our nurses is very evident in all they do each day, especially during those times when we as healthcare professional or our families have to be treated as patients. Having worked at CMMC for just a year, Kaveh’s passion and holistic approach to patient care have already been an example for all that have worked with him during his first year. We have so much to look forward to from Kaveh in his years to come,” said CMMC Vice President for Nursing Sharron Sieleman

The DAISY Award was created to show gratitude to the nursing profession, because the Barnes family believed that nurses are truly “unsung heroes”. The DAISY Foundation says the program “honors the super human work nurses do at the bedside each and every day.” The foundation also funds research for the J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects.

Patients, visitors, physicians, and co-workers can nominate nurses who they feel deserve to be recognized with the DAISY Award.