Knight recognized with DAISY Award

Savanah Knight, RN, has been named Gordon Hospitals latest DAISY Award recipient. This award is part of the DAISY Foundation's program to recognize the super-human tasks nurses perform every day.

Knight, who is a nurse in Gordon Hospitals emergency department, received a nomination with the following statement from a family member of a patient: Last year, my grandfather suffered a stroke that affected his health to the point that living independently in Tennessee was no longer possible. He had a very difficult time transitioning into an assisted living facility in Calhoun and was despondent. He quickly began to feel that he no longer served a purpose and made an attempt to end his life, which resulted in a stay in the Gordon Hospital ER under the care of Savanah. I cannot overstate how Savanah's care made the difference in my grandfather's life and wellbeing at that exact time. She saw him for who he truly was: an elderly gentleman struggling to know how to cope with massive changes in his life. She listened to him and cared for him with respect and empathy. This gave him back some dignity and made him see that he was still valued as a person. He spent five days in the hospital, and each day I went to see him, he told me about the angel nurse, Savanah, who was the first person he felt had shown him any kindness since he moved to Georgia.

After that hospital stay, there was another evening when he was in the ER for a quick check up of his vitals, and when she saw his name on the patient list, she immediately went to check in on him even though he wasn't assigned to her. He could not have felt more special to have his angel nurse come and tell him she had been thinking about him and praying for him. He was so grateful to her, and I know he would want her to be recognized for what a caring and compassionate individual she is. He passed away very recently and in thinking over all the difficult times in the last year, I will always remember and be thankful for Savanah and how she was a bright spot in all of it. If anyone deserves this award, it is her.

If you or a loved one have been a patient at Gordon Hospital and would like to nominate an extraordinary nurse for the DAISY Award, visit www.gordonhospital.com to download a nomination form, or call Call706-602-7800 x2258.

To find out more about the program, including the growing list of partners, please go to www.DAISYfoundation.org.

About the DAISY Foundation

The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in Glen Ellen, California, and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for diseases attacking the immune system.)

The care Patrick 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.

About Gordon Hospital

Founded in 1935, Gordon Hospital is proud to be a member of Adventist Health System. With a sacred mission of extending the healing ministry of Christ, Adventist Health System (AHS) is a connected system of care for every stage of life and health. More than 80,000 skilled and compassionate caregivers in physician practices, hospitals, outpatient clinics, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and hospice centers provide individualized, wholistic care. A Christian mission, shared vision, common values, focus on whole-person health, and commitment to making communities healthier unify the systems 46 hospital campuses and hundreds of care sites in diverse markets throughout nine states.